LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 

®]|ap.t ' '^ inp^ttjW frt 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



OUTLINE 



OF A 



COURSE OF STUDY 



IN 



UHITED STATES HISTORY, 



With an Introduction on the Natuee of the Subject, the Reasons for Teach- 
ing IT, and the Method of Tjeaching it ; Notes on the Civilization of 
the Ancient Mexicans and Peruvians, and on the Prepa- 
ration FOR the Discovery of the New World. 



By CYRUS W. HODGIN, 



Teacher of History and Civil Government in the 
State Normal School, 

TERRE HAUTE, INDIANAP^ '"' 



" The roots of the present lie deep in the past, and nothing in 
the past is dead to the man who would learn how the present comes 
to be what it is." — Siubbs. 



TERRE HAUTE, INDIANA : 
printed bv c. w. broavn, at the globe printing office and bindery. 



18«0. 






Copyright, 1880. 
CYRUS W. HODGIN. 



PREFACE. 



A few months ago the writer prepared and published for 
the use of his classes, a brief Outline of the work in United 
States History, as presented in the Normal School. The de- 
mand for it by those pupils wlio had gone out to teach, was 
so great, that the edition was soon exhausted. This revised 
edition has heen prepared for the double purpose of supplying 
the classes in the Normal School, and of meeting the wants of 
those teachers who may find it useful to them in their schools. 

The author desires to acknowledge his indebtedness to Ex- 
President, Wm. A. Jones, of the Normal School, for important 
hints and suggestions which, eight years ago, started him in 
the pleasant paths of historical investigation on a higher plane 
than he had before known. 

He wishes also to express the pleasure he experiences as he 
recalls the patient industry and the quiet enthusiasm- with 
which liis many classes have worked with him in elaborating 
the matter of which this "OutMne" has been the basis ; and 
to them it is affectionately dedicated. 

In the hope^that it_^may stimulate to further research and 

to higher results, this^edition is sent out to those for whom it 

is intended. C W. H. 

Indiana State Ncnnal Sc/iool, 
Oct. 1, 1880. 



INTRODUCTION. 

The thoughtful and conscientious teacher, in ])eginning to 
give instruction in any subject, finds tliree questions present- 
ing themselves to him and demanding clear and satisfactory 
answers : 

1. ir/wtHs it that I am to teach ? What is the nature of 
the subject in itself considered? What are its limitations? 
How related to, and distinguished from, other kindred sub- 
jects ? 

2. Why am I to teach it ? What are the uses to which it 
can be put by the learner ? What is tlie end or purpose aimed 
at in giving instruction in it? 

3. How am I to teach it? By what means and by wliat 
method can the end proposed be best secured ? 

The nature and relations of a subject determine the import- 
ance of knowing it; hence a comprehensive answer to the first 
question suggests an answer to the second. 

The nature of a subject and the reasons for knowing it, large- 
ly determine the method of knowing it; lience the answers to 
the first and second questions, together with the nature of the 
mind, and the laws of its activity, furnish material for the an- 
swer to the third. 

We shall briefly consider these questions as applied to His- 
tory. 

Fh'st, then, What is History f 

The teacher should not be satisfied with a mere dictionary 
definition in answering this question for himself While he 



6 INTRODUCTION. 

must be able to give that in the best, clearest, and most com- 
prehensive form, he must be able to do more. He must see 
the snhjed itself lying in his own mind with such clearness and 
distinctness, that he can present it to his classes in all its 
beauty, freshness, and living power. 

Let the general idea of what Histor}^ is, in its essential na- 
ture, be developed through the following propositions : 

I. Every thing that was created was created for some end 
or purpose. Since an end or purpose is a thought, we must 
accept this proposition, or we deny the existence of intelli- 
gence. 

II. The fulfilling of tliis end or purpose is the destiny of 
the created object. This is seen in material things ; as, the 
mineral, the plant, the animal. 

III. Man, as a spiritual being, is no exception to the law 
stated in proposition II. 

IV. The final end or purpose of man is freedom ; i.e., the 
realization of freedom is his destiny. 

V. Man can achieve his destiny only through the organi- 
zation of society. Man, isolated from organized society, laj^ses 
into barbarism. Said Aristotle, " Whoever lives voluntarily 
out of civil society must have a vicious dis])osition, or be an 
existence superior to man." 

VI. The i)rogress of mankind in tlie achievement of its 
destiny, is Hldory ; i.e., the history of the world is the devel- 
opment of tlie idea of freedom in the consciousness of man- 
kind. 

VII. In its broadest sense, History may be defined from 
two stand-points, one objective, the otlier subjective ; and witli 
reference to two classes of objects, natural and spirituab 



INTRODUCTION. 7 

In the objective sense, History is the process of the develop* 
ment of nature and spirit. 

In the subjective sense, it is the investigation and statement 
of the steps in the objective process. 

NOTES. 

Objective, as here used, means outer, external to the mind, which is 
the thinking subject. Subjective, inner, within the mind, brought un- 
der its activity or cognizance. The process of development, as of the 
acorn into an oak, may go on independently of the cognizance of any 
human mind; the process is objective, it is outer to the mind. When 
this process is brought under the cognizance of the mind ; when it is 
investigated and stated, it then becomes subjective. This process as 
it lies within the mind is the subjective history of the oak. 

A process is a moving or going forward, a method of proceeding. 

A Development is the gradual unfolding of a plan or method through 
a series of progressive changes ; through a succession of states or 
stages each of which is preparatory to the next. Or, it is the gradual 
realization, through a series of changes, of the essence of the subject oi 
the development. The subject of the development in human history, 
is the human spirit, and the essence of spirit is freedom. 

The essence of a thing is that property or quality of it upon which it 
depends for being M'hat it is. 

Spirit, the real man, as distinguished from his instrument, the 
body. Here the term is used rather in a general than in an individ- 
ual sense, meaning the spirit of the race. 

Investigation, literally the act of tracking or tracing. 

A process of development necessarily implies change ; change in- 
volves time, and implies the opposition of unequal forces. Not all 
change, however, implies development, and only those changes are 
of historical im})ortance which promote the unfolding of tl»e plan re- 
vealed in the process of development. 

The realization on the part of spirit of its own essence comes through 
its own consciousness; and all the activities and other attributes of 
spirit are the means by which it comes into the consciousness of its 
essence ; i. e., makes itself actually what it is able to become,— fr^^. 

VIII. The definition of history given in proposition Vlf., 
makes it absolutely universal, since it includes all develop- 
ment, natural and si)ii-itua]. 

Xatitral Hidory, in the subjective sense, as l)otany, zoology, 
physiology, geology, &c., is the investigation and statement of 
tlie develo})ment of different departments of nature. 



8 INTRODUCTION. 

Universal History, in the restricted sense, the sense in which 
the term is popularly used, applies to human history only ; 
i. e., to the exhihition of spirit in the process of working out 
the knowledge of what it is able to become. 

IX. Any particular history is the investigation and state- 
ment of the progress of the consciousness of freedom in a par- 
ticular part of the race, on a particular part of the earth, and 
during a particular period of time. 

X. United States History is the investigation and statement 
of the progress made by the people of the United States in 
the attainment of the consciousness of freedom, from the 
beginning to the present time, as this progress is manifested 
in their arts, sciences, inventions, industries, education, gov- 
ernment and religion. Or, stated in another way, it is a 
record of the steps in the development of the fundamental 
ideas of the government of the United States, and the ideas 
which it is still seeking to realize, together with the means by 
which these steps were taken, and by which the progress of 
tlie nation in civilization is secured. 

Note. — Some of the oriental nations have not attained the knowl- 
edge that spirit, — man as sudi,—is free ; and because they do not 
know this, they are not free. They only know that one, the monarch, 
is free. But on this very account the freedom of that one is only 
(caprice. He is a despot, not a free man. The consciousness of free- 
dom first arose among the Greeks, and to the extent to which they 
realized this consciousness, they were free ; but they, and also the 
Romans, knew only that some are free, not man as man. They there- 
fore held slaves ; and their whole life, and the maintenance of their 
splendid liberty was implicated with the institution of slavery ; a 
fact which made that liberty only an accidental, transient, limited 
growth. The Germanic nations, which include the English-speaking 
people, under the infiuence of Christianity, were the first to come 
into the consciousness that man as man is free, — that it is freedom 
that constitutes the essence of spirit. These last mentioned nations 
have so far ('ome into this consciousness, that not one of them now 
recognizes propeiiy in man. But this was a growth, a development, a 
gradual approach toward the ideal through a .long series of steps. 



INTRODUCTION. ft 

The ideal of the race is one with that of the individual. The race 
may be viewed as "one man who lives always and learns continual- 
ly." The individual dies, but the race endures. 

In the study of history we find the knowledge of this ideal mani- 
festing itself through the language, literature, arts, sciences, indus- 
tries, laws, insttiutions, and forms of religious worship of the people 
whose history we study. Indeed, it is through these outward mani- 
festations that we determine to what extent a people has realized 
freedom. We may say, then, that progress in the consciousness of 
freedom is fundamental to all other progress. 

What is the Object, or End to be Attained in Teaching 
History f 

Some teachers give instruction in history merely because it 
is placed among the legal branches in the common school cur- 
riculum ; they have no other end in view than the fulfillment 
of the letter of the law which requires them to teach it. 

Others, perhaps, in addition to the above, liave a love for 
facts and figures, and delight to display their knowledge of 
them before their classes ; and the pupils are encouraged to 
store their minds with the facts and dates of history that they 
may have the pleasure of knowing what their teacher knows, 
of feeling what he feels, and of being able to do what he can 
do. 

Another class teach it for the purpose of holding up before 
their pupils the failures and successes of past generations, 
encouraging them to copy the one while they avoid the other. 

There is still another class who see that, other tilings being 
equal, he is best prepared for the duties and responsibilities 
of citizenship, who has the profoundest knowledge of the his- 
tory and principles of the government under which he hves. 
To this class, therefore, the end or purpose of teaching history 
is tlie making of good citizens. 

Is there any higher or more comprehensive end than these ? 



10 INTRODUCTION. 

Since history is the record of a development, and a devel- 
opment reveals a plan, and a plan presupposes a planner, the 
teacher should lead the pupil to see the purposes of the plan- 
ner revealed, unfolded, bodied forth in the successive steps of 
the development. The insight, thus gained, into the magnifi- 
cent plans revealed in universal history will convince him 
that "what has come to pass, and what is coming to pass 
every day, is not only not without God, but is essentially his 
work." * When the plan is comprehended and recognized 
as God's plan, the result is the justification of God in tlie his- 
tory of the universe. 

Now, if he be thus led to see that God lias an ideal for man- 
kind to realize, viz., freedom, and that the ideal is the same 
for the individual as for the race, he nmst see that liis own 
highest good consists in realizing that ideal in himself. He 
will be led to see that it is not enough that he assert his free- 
dom against irrational and unjust requirements from with- 
out, but that he must assert it against caprice, passion, preju- 
dice and sensuality from within. He will be led to recognize, 
also, that though there are various races of men, there is but 
one Human Family; that all nations are linked together in one 
universal Brotherhood; that "Humanity is one vast organ- 
ism, complex, l)ut still one, throbbing with one life, animated 
by one soul, every i>art symi)athizing with every other part, 
and the whole advancing in one indefinite career of pro- 
gress." t Such a view must lift him out of a narrow selfish- 
ness into a broad sympathy, which in its exercise, takes in 
the whole world. The struggles of any part of the race toward 
a higher ideal will excite in him the liveliest interest, and 



Hegel. t Sumner. 



INTRODUCTION. 11 

their successes in any direction of true progress will give him a 
species of enjoyment incomprehensible to one who cannot 
see beyond the limits of the selfish man's horizon. With 
such a spectacle of struggles and triumphs before him lie 
will not be content to remain an idle spectator; he will be 
impelled to cast in his mite of strength toward the further- 
ance of the great ends of humanity. 

To lead the pupil into that state in which he perceives and 
does what he ought to do, and does it of his own choice, is to 
lead him to the realization of the highest freedom. Such is 
the true end of teaching history. This must be so because it 
is the end revealed in the nature of the subject. This end 
must be general because it is found in the nature of universal 
history ; and since it is general, it must include all proper 
specific ends. Therefore, the teacher who succeeds in secur- 
ing this general object, will succeed in making good citizens ; 
he will teach moral lessons from the failures and successes of 
past generations ; he may display a wonderful knowledge of 
facts and dates, and secure the same in his pupils ; he 
will fulfill the letter of the law which requires him to teach 
history in the common schools, and, wiiat is infinitely better, 
he will fulfill its spirit. 

How teach HiMori/ f By what Method ran the End songJit 
he best secured f 

Two elements enter into every rational method of studying 
or teaching any subject : first, the plan embodied in the thing 
studied; and second, the laws of the mind's activity. These 
two things have been so created as to be exactly adapted to 
each other. If this were not so, there could be no progress in 
the development of a single one of the sciences, natural or 



12 INTRODUCTION. 

spiritual. Every subject contains within itself the key to its 
own method. It follows, then, that the method to be applied 
to any subject is not something to be made to order, luit is to 
to be found in. and drawn from, the subject itself 

Every subject exists under certain relations. These rela- 
tions are the conditions under which the mind knows it, and 
are called the laivs of knowing. They are, as commonly stated, 
Time, Space, Subtance and Attribute, Whole and Part, Likeness 
and Difference, Cavse and, Effect, and Design. These are funda- 
mental ideas, and some of them are necessarily emploj^ed 
in every act of thinking or knowing. 

In order, therefore, to perfect our knowledge of anything, 
i. e., to know tliat thing fully, and to make it a matter oi per- 
manent knowledge, we must not only know the fact or facts 
of its mere existence, but we must know it in all its relations. 

The plan of stud}- derived from tlie foregoing considera- 
tions, ma> ])e stated as follow\'^ : 

1. Study the thing in itself, — the facts of its existence, — 
find its limitations or its attri])utes, the marks which distin- 
guish it from other things. 

2. Fix it in time and space, and in its tinjo and space rela- 
tions to other things. 

3. Study it as a whole composed of related parts ; also 
view each part as a whole composed of parts, when it can be 
done. 

4. Compare and contrast it with other things ; i. e., find 
their likenesses and differences ; also compare and contrast 
the parts with each other. 

5. Study it as cause and effect; i. e., viewed as a cause 
what effects does it produce, and as an effect, what causes pro- 
duced it ? 



INTRODUCTION. 13 

6. Study it with reference to design ; seek to know the 
plan that it embodies; the purpose for which it exists. 

7. Study patiently, persistently, and energetically. 
S. Review frequently. 

This is no artificial system of mnemonics, nor is it a short 
cut to the mastery of a subject. It must be perfectly natural, 
however, because it is grounded in the nature of the mind 
and of the thing to be known. It calls for close applica- 
tion, patient research, clear, logical thinking, and a deter- 
mined purpose ; and yet it is, in the very nature of things, 
as short a method as will insure complete, and therefore per- 
manent knowledge. 

It is frequently, and too often justly, charged that the in- 
struction given in our common schools is not practical ; and 
particularly is this charge made against the instruction in 
United States History. Facts out of relation, or facts whose 
relations are not perceived by their possessor, are of little 
value. In so far as facts are taught without leading the 
pupils to see, sooner or later, their relations to some phase of 
their own lives, just so far the instruction fails. Now, if the 
teacher in preparing for his work, studies his sul)jects ac- 
cording to this plan, he wdll know them in their relations ; 
and wdien he commences teaching he will see the end from 
the beginning, — he will know ivhat he is to teach, iv/nj he is 
to teach it, and hoiv he is to teach it. His instruction will be 
systematic, effective, practical, and enjoyable. 



OUTLINE 

OF A 

COURSE OF STUDY 

IN 

United States Histoby. 



[Note. — This outline is intended rather as a guide to teachers in 
studying the subject for themselves, than in teaching it to beginners. 
The judgment of the teacher will determine how far it is to be used 
in the class-room in connection with the text-book.] 



DIVLSION OF THE SUBJECT INTO RELATED PARTS. 

United States History, as a whole, extends in time, from 

(an indefinitely remote period) to the present. Its parts are : 

1. The Aboriginal Period, to 1492. 

2. The Period of Discoveries, 1492 to 1607. 

3. The Period of Settlements, 1607 to 1689. 

4. The Period of Inter-colonial Wars, 1689 to 1768. 

5. The Period of the Revolution, 1763 to 1789. 

6. The Period of National Development, 1789 to 1861. 

7. The Period of the Civil War, 1861 to 1865. 

8. The Period of Reconstruction, 1865 to . 



I. 

ABOI^IGINAL PERIOD, TO 1492. 

1. Why this period is so named, why so bounded in time, 
and why introduced in the study of U. S. History. 



16 Outline of a Course of Study 

2. Comparison and contrast of North America with South 
America in respect of position, outline, surface, climate, and 
productions — mineral, vegetable, and animal. 

3. From this comparison and contrast, determine their rel- 
ative fitness to serve as the physical basis for the development 
of a highly civilized people. 

4. In like manner determine the relative value of British 
America and the United States ; also, of Mexico and the Uni- 
ted States. 

[Note. — This comparison and contrast may be made an excellent 
review of the Geography of the countries compared and contrasted.] 

5. Human inhabitants of America during this period. 

a. The Mound Builders. — See Smithsonian Contributions, 
Vol. I., — Squier and Davis on "Ancient Monuments;" Bald- 
win's "Ancient America;" Foster's "Prehistoric Races of Amer- 
ica;" Jones' "Mound Builders of Tennessee;" North Ameri- 
can Review, Vol. cxxii. pp. 265-308 ; also, Vol. cxxiii, pp. BO- 
SS; "The Early Man of N. A." in Popular Science Monthly, 
March, 1877 ; "Wonders of the Lowlands," Harper's Magazine, 
February, 1875. 

h. The Esquimaux. — See any good Cyclopedia ; Dr. Kane's 
"Arctic Expedition;" "The Cruise of the Florence," in N. A. 
Review, January, 1879; "The Seven Little Sisters." 

c. American Indians. — Good brief sketches in Quackenbos', 
Seavey's, Goodrich's, and Taylor's Histories of the U. S.; 
Schoolcraft's " History and Condition of the Indian Tribes ;" 
Cooper's " Leatherstocking Tales ;" Introduction to Parkman's 
"Jesuits in America." 

d. Ancient Mexicans or Aztecs. — Their agriculture, manufac- 
tures, trade or barter, architecture, education, science, govern- 
ment, and religion. — Prescott's "Conquest of Mexico;" Draper's 



In United States History. 17 

"Intellectual Development of Europe;" Baldwin's "Ancient 
America;" Foster's "Prehistoric Races of America;" N. A. Re- 
view, August, 1880, et seq.; Cyclopedias. 

e. Ancient Peruvians. — Same topics as above. See Prescott's 
"Conquest of Peru ;" Draper's " Intellectual Development of 
Europe ;" Baldwin's Ancient America ;" Foster's " Prehistoric 
Races of America ;" Cyclopedias. 

II- 
PERIOD OF DISCOVERIES, 1492 to 1607. 
1. Historical Conditions in the Old World, preparing for, 
and making possible the discovery of the New. 

a. The Crusades. — See Cyclopedias ; any good work on Gen- 
eral History ; Guizot's " History of Civilization ;" Hallam's 
"Middle Ages;" James' "Qiivalry and the Crusades;" "Chron- 
icles of the Crusades ;" Walter Scott's " Talisman," and " Be- 
trothed;" Fuller's "Holy War;" Proctor's "History of the Cru- 
sades;" Gray's " Children's Crusade ;" Goodrich's " History of 
the Sea." 

h. Travels of Marco Polo, Sir John Mandeville, and others, 
by land, in the East. See Cyclopedias; Harper's "Marco Polo 
and his Book ;" Article on "Geography," Chamber's Cyclope- 
dia; Goodrich's " History of the Sea." 

c. Explorations nnder the direction of Prince Henry, of Portu- 
gal. These were by sea, giving a maritime turn to exploration. 
See Cyclopedias ; Irving's " Columbus ;" Ladies' Repository, 
1869, pp. 333 and 444; Major's "Prince Henry the Navigator;" 
Goodrich's "History of the Sea." 

d. Improvement of the Mariner^s Compass. — Its influence in 
promoting maritime discoveries. See Cyclopedias ; " The Sea 
and its Living Wonders, part III.; Prescott's " Ferdinand and 



18 Outline of a Course of Study 

Isabella ;" Irving's " Columbus ;" Major's " Prince Henry;" 
Goodrich's "History of the Sea." 

e. Invention of Printing. — See Cyclopedia articles on Print- 
ing, Gutenberg, and Coster or Koster ; Parley's "Benefactors ;" 
"Printing," in "First Century of the Republic;" same in Har- 
per's Magazine, March, 1875. 

/. Beginnings of the Protestant Reformation. — Read sketches 
of Wickliffe, Huss, Savonarola; Life of Martin Luther; Dew's 
" Digest of Ancient and Modern History;" Draper's " Intel- 
lectual Development of Europe;" Fisher's and D'Aubigne's 
Histories of the Reformation. 

g. The Political Condition of Europe in the 16 th Century. — The 
struggles of the Nations of Western Europe for commercial 
supremacy, as a means to secure political power, led to rival- 
ries which greatly stimulated maritime enterprise. 

2. The Law of Nations concerning Claims to newly discov- 
ered territory, as agreed to by the Christian States of Europe 
about the close of the 15th Century. 

Two points to this law : First, Newly discovered territory 
should belong to the discoverers. 

Second, If the Nation originally making the discovery failed 
for a long time to take possession by actual occupation, other 
nations might come in. 

Modifications. — If the native inhabitants should prove to be 
Christians, their rights were to be respected ; but if they were 
not Christians, i.e., Roman Catholics, (the Christianity of the 
time being Roman Catholicism,) they were fair subjects of 
plunder and conquest, and the exclusive privilege of plunder- 
ing and conquering them belonged to the discoverers. See 



In United States History. 19 

Hildredth's U. S. History, Vol. I.; also, Seavey's Goodrich's 
U. S. History, p. 20. 

What assumptions underlying this " Law," concerning the 
relations of Christians to the heathen, and of each to the 
world ? 

Why study this " Law " in connection with the Period of 
Discoveries ? 

3. Foundation of Claims to Territory in America. 
a. Spanish Claims. — Construct a table of discoveries, ex- 
plorations, &c., accomplished by the Spaniards during this 
period. For material, see any good text-book. 
h. French Claims. — Construct table, 
c. English Claims. — Construct table. 

Give the boundaries of the claims of each nation at the 
close of this period. Observe whether these claims have been 
founded according to the law. 
Are there conflicting claims ? 

III. 

PERIOD OF SETTLEMENTS, OR THE CONFIRMATION OF 

CLAIMS BY FOUNDING COLONIES. 1607—1689. 

Note. In the study of this period, the parts are the separate col- 
onies. 

GENERAL TOPICS. 

1. Royal grants of territory. 

2. Settlements made by English, French, and Spanish. 
Study carefully each of the English colonies founded 

during this period, following the method of study laid down 
in the introduction. 

3. Motives of governments, corporations, and individuals 
in projecting and planting colonies. 



20 Outline of a Course of Study 

4. The colonial system of the times. 

5. Charters of the English colonies compared and con- 
trasted. 

6. Character of inhabitants of these colonies, and of their 
institutions. 

7. Virginia and Massachusetts, as exponents of different 
political, social, and religious systems, compared and con- 
trasted. Observe carefully the influence of these two colonies 
as leaders of public opinion in the subsequent periods. See 
Parton's Lecture on "The Pilgrim Fathers as men of Business." 

8. Make like comparisons and contrasts of other colonies. 

9. Kind of government in each colony, both at the begin- 
ning and at the close of this period. 

10. Lack of common sympathy among the English colo- 
nies to be observed and accounted for. 

The best general reference books on this period are Ban- 
croft's, Abbot's, and Hildreth's United States Histories. 

I"V. 

PERIOD OF INTER-COLONIAL WARS, OR QUARRELS 
OVER CLAIMS. 1689—1763. 

Parts of the Period : — 

1. King William's War, 1689-1697. 

2. Queen Anne's War, 1702-1713. 

3. The Spanish War, 1739-1744. 

4. King George's War, 1744-1748. 

5. French and Indian war, 1754-1763. 

KING William's war. 
a. Causes: — 
1. Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, and persecution of 
the Huguenots by Louis XIV. of France, which caused an 



In United States History. 21 

alliance of England with other Protestant Nations against 
Louis. 

2. James II. of England adhered to the " divine right of 
kings," and the Catholic religion. The English people believed 
in their right to a voice in the government, and in the Protest- 
ant religion. The English revolution of 1688 drove James 
from the throne. His cause was espoused by Louis of France. 

3. Conflicting claims to territory. 

6. Events in the Colonies. See any good text-book on United 
States History. 
c. Results: — 

1. Persecution of Protestants allayed. 

2. William and Mary, the sovereigns chosen by the Eng- 
lish Parliament, were confirmed on the throne, and the princi- 
ple on which they were chosen, acknowledged by France. 

3. Territorial boundaries in America unchanged. 

4. Unity of sentiment among English colonies promoted. 

QUEEN ANNE's WAR. 

a. Causes: — 

1. Louis XIV. tried to place upon the throne of England 
James Francis Edward, son of James II., while the Parliament 
had chosen Anne. 

2. Louis placed his relative, Philip of Anjou, on the throne 
of Spain in violation of a treaty to which England was a party 
for the preservation of the balance of power in Europe. 

3. Conflicting claims to territory. 

b. Events in the Colonies. See text-books. 

c. Results: — 

1. Plilip confirmed on the throne of Spain. 

2. Anne confirmed on the throne of England. 



22 Outline op a Course op Study 

3. England obtained possession of Hudson Bay Territory, 
Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, I. of St. Christopher, Gibraltar, 
and I. of Minorca. 

4. England obtained from Spain the "Assiento," — a con- 
tract to furnish the Spanish colonies in America 4,800 negro 
slaves each year for thirty years, and to carry with them 500 
tons of "other goods" each year. 

5. Colonial unity still further promoted. 

SPANISH WAR. 

a. Cause: — England's violation of the commercial clause 
of the Assiento. 

b. Events: — See text-books. 

c. Results: — Unimportant. 

KING George's war. 
ft. Causes : 

1. England and France took opposite sides in the war of 
the Austrian Succession. 

2. Louis XV. of France tried to place on the English 
throne, Charles Edward, grand-son of James II. 

3. Conflicting claims to territory. 

b. Events: — See text-books. 

c. Results: — 

1. Maria Theresa confirmed on the Austrian Throne. 

2. Charles Edward's claims to the English throne aban- 
doned by France. 

3. Territorial boundaries unsettled. 

4. Colonies learned to take care of themselves, and their 
common dangers and common interests bound them to- 
gether. 



In United States History. 23 

FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. 

a. Causes: — 

1. England and France took opposite sides in the Seven 
Year's War in Europe. 

2. The chief cause of the war in America was conflicting 
claims to territory. At the same time, England and France 
were contending for supremacy in India. 

b. Events: — See text-books. 

c. Results: — 

1. This war gave to England all territory east of the Missis- 
sippi River, excei)t the I. and city of New Orleans. 

2. It determined whether the United States should be 
English or French, Protestant or Catholic, monarchical or 
republican. 

3. It gave the English colonists an education im warfare 
that prepared them for the revolutionary struggle. 

Results of the Period of Inter-colonial Wars as a whole : 
Teacher and pupils think them out from the study of 
the period. 

PERIOD OF THE REVOLUTION, 17G3— 1789. 

Parts : — 1. Parliamentary struggle, 1763 — 1775. 

2. Revolutionary War, 1775—1783. 

3. Development and adoption of the Constitution, 

1783—1789. 

PARLIAMENTARY STRUGGLE. 

During the Parliamentary Struggle the colonists tried 
to maintain their rights as Englishmen by parliamentary 
means. 



24 Outline of a Course of Study 

Special topics to be considered in studying this part of the 
period : 

a. The various oppressive acts of the British Parliament. 

b. The Congresses of 1765, 1774, and 1775. What they 
did. Observe that in 1774 the general government of the 
colonies was transferred from the British crown to the Amer- 
ican Congress by the will of the colonists, and the United 
States became, in fact, a new nation. 

c. Colonial associations formed for opposition to British 
oppression: 

1. Sons and daughters of liberty. 

2. Non-importation societies. 

3. Anti-English luxury societies. 

d. Quartering of troops. 

e. Tea-tricks of Lord North, and other attempts to bribe 
the colonists to yield their principles. 

/. Committees of correspondence and inquiry appointed to 
promote the dissemination of news in the colonies, and to 
secure unity of sentiment and action. (Very important). 

g. Organization of colonial militia. 

h. Division of the people into two parties, — Whigs and 
Tories. 

i. American lawyers were at this time giving much earnest 
study to Blackstone's Commentaries on English Law, wliich 
had just been published. In the numerous public meetings 
the masses of the people were instructed concerning their 
rights under the laws of England. 

Thomas Paine's writings, "Common Sense," "The 
Crisis," and "A Crisis Extraordinary," were powerful appeals 
in behalf of independence. 



In United States History. 25 

j. Statesmen of the Revolution educated for the coming 
great struggle. 

L Old political ideas cleared up, and more advanced ones 
developed. 

/. Affection of colonies for England supplanted by a desire 
for independence. 

m. Petty strifes between colonies forgotten, and a close 
union produced. 

m. Restrictions of the British Parliament on commerce 
and manufactures, led the colonists to manufacture at their 
homes the most necessary articles, and when the war came, 
they were prepared to provide themselves. Thus England, 
by her short-sighted policy, educated her colonies for inde- 
pendence. 

In this part of the period were clearly developed the 
causes of the American Revolution. They may be summar- 
ized in the following propositions and remarks : 

I. The British government claimed the right to regulate 
and control the entire trade and commerce of the colonies. 
This was claimed on the ground that Parliament was the 
supreme legislature, and had a right to legislate for all parts 
of the empire, including the colonies. Parliament did exer- 
cise this control, as is shown by her various Navigation Acts, 
and acts imposing duties on imports. 

Remarks. At first the colonists scarcely called this right in 
question, as it was in accordance with the colonial system 
adopted by the European states of the time. 

The colonial sy^^tem was this : that no colony should have 
any commercial intercourse with other parts of the world, 
except through the mother country. 



26 Outline op a Course op Study 

The chief advantages of possessing colonies were : 

1. That the trade and commerce of the mother country 
might be enlarged, and her merchants and navigators en- 
riched. 

2. That the number of seamen engaged in the merchant 
service might be increased, from which the government might 
draw recruits for the navy in time of war. 

Any nation depending for its safety on a powerful navy, 
as was the case with England, encounters great difficulty in 
obtaining sailors to man the war vessels. There is little dif- 
ficulty in building and equipping ships, but there is much in 
obtaining a trained crew, for it takes a long time for one to 
become a good sailor. 

England aspired to rule the ocean, and by her navigation 
laws she secured both the above named advantages. The 
colonists submitted at first because their lot was the com- 
mon lot of all colonies at that time ; besides, they were too 
weak to resist. 

II. The British government claimed the right to appoint 
colonial governors, who should hold office during the king's 
good pleasure. Besides this, it was claimed that the governors 
should be made independent of the colonies by a permanent 
salary, to be paid by the colonists. 

Remarks. The colonists wished to make annual grants for 
the governor's salary, so as to put him under obligation to 
manage political affairs to please the j^eople, thus making 
him fear that if he did not do so, the legislature would make 
trouble about voting his salary. At all events, the principles 
of his administration would come before the colonial assem- 
bly for discussion every year. In England this was considered 



In TJnited States History. 27 

as subjecting the governor to great indignity, as it tended 
to make him directly responsible to the people, — an idea 
wholly at variance with those prevailing in European mon- 
archies at that time concerning the proper relation of ruler 
and subject. 

III. It was claimed by the British Government that all 
colonial judges should be appointed by the king, and hold 
office during his good pleasure. 

Remarks. The colonists did not object to the king's ap- 
pointing the judges ; but when once appointed they wished 
to have them made wholly independent by securing them in 
office during good behavior ; because cases would come before 
the judges in which the rights and privileges of the colonists 
would come in conflict with the prerogatives of the crown. 
In such cases there was no security for an impartial decision 
if at any time the king could remove one judge and appoint 
another. The colonists claimed that an independent judiciary 
was the only safeguard against the usurpations of govern- 
mental power. 

IV. The British government claimed the right of direct or 
internal taxation. 

Remarks. The first of the four great matters of difference 
between the colonies and Great Britain ; viz., the right to 
regulate and control the trade and commerce of the colonies, 
clearly includes the right of indirect taxation, or the levying 
and collecting duties on imports. It also logically includes 
the right of direct taxation, or the levying and collecting of 
taxes on each person in the community according to the 
amount and kind of property which he owns, or the employ- 
ment he follows, or his income. 



28 Outline of a Course of Study 

Although the British Government claimed both these 
rights, it had, up to this time, put in practice only the first, 
for the following reasons : 

1. For a long time the population of the colonies was so 
small and scattering, and the amount of property possessed by 
the inhabitants was so insignificant that a direct tax would have 
yielded but little revenue, while the expense of collecting it 
would have been great. 

2. The tax on imported goods was easily collected at the 
ports of entry, and was less obnoxious to the people ; hence 
the government practiced the right of indirect taxation at an 
early period. 

3. While the French held possession of Canada and the 
Mississippi Valley, and the Spanish held Florida, England 
was somewhat cautious in the treatment of her colonies, for 
she feared troublesome complications might arise from a 
serious disagreement between herself and them. 

Finally, however, the growing wealth of the colonies, and 
the increased expenses of the government, growing out of 
costly wars, led to the exercise of the right of direct taxation. 

In addition to this, by the treaty of Paris in 1763, both 
France and Spain surrendered to England their possessions 
east of the Mississippi. Now, with Canada in her hands, all 
the forts manned by British troops, and all the ports filled 
with British war-vessels, and, having no dangerous neighbors 
to contend with, the Parliament felt that it had the 'poioer^ as 
well as the right, to enforce the payment of direct taxes. This 
it attempted to do by the Stamp Act. 

The colonists did not object to paying their share of the 
expenses of the government, but they claimed that the 



In United States History. 29 

amount to be assessed, and the manner of its collection, 
should be determined by their own legislatures. 

They grounded this claim on certain inherent and inde- 
feasible rights, vested in every Englishman by the principles 
of the British Constitution. 

The theory of the British Constitution is, that the king has 
the inherent and indefeasible right to govern the country 
without any dictation or control of the people ; and that it is 
the inherent and indefeasible right of the people, (meaning 
by the people, that portion of them represented in the House 
of Commons) to pay or withhold the expense of his govern- 
ment as they please, without any dictation or control of the 
king. 

This system practically transfers the power to the people, 
for the king can do nothing without the revenues supplied 
by his subjects. If his policy be obnoxious to the people, 
the Parliament has only to withhold the means for executing 
it, and his policy must fail 

Smce the colonial legislatures were the only bodies in 
which the colonists were represented, they claimed that those 
bodies had the right to determine the whole matter of colo- 
nial taxation. 

For a fuller statement of the above points, see Abbott's 
"Revolt of the Colonies;" Bancroft's "History of the United 
States;" Frothingham's "Rise of the Republic." 

REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 

Two general classes of topics are to be studied here, 
political and military. 

The principal topics of the first class are; — 
a.. Foreign relations. 



30 Outline of a Course of Study 

b. Finances of the Revolution. 

c. The Declaration of Independence. Study the Declara- 
tion itself, and observe that most of the points made in it are 
found in one or another of the foregoing propositions. 

d. Relations of the colonies to one another and to the Con- 
gress. 

e. The Articles of Confederation. 

/. Provisions of treaty at close of war. 

Under the military topics shoidd he studied : — 

a. The principal campaigns of the war, time and place of 
each ; parts of each, and the relations of the parts to each 
other and to the whole ; plan and purpose of each ; principal 
battles and their results. 

h. Turning point of the war found in the failure of Bur- 
goyne's Campaign. This should be well studied. See Crea- 
sey's "Fifteen Decisive Battles." 

c. Comparison and contrast of the British and American 
armies in respect of motives, discipline, equipments and 
efficiency. 

d. Condition and services of the United States navy dur- 
ing the war. 

e. Leading officers on both sides. 
/. Disbanding of the Army. 

General Tojncs. 

a. Meaning of the term "revolution," as applied to a gov- 
ernment. 

6. Distinction between revolution^ rebellion^ insurrection^ 
sedition. 

c. Is a revolution in a government necessarily accompa- 
nied by war ? Illustrate. 



In United States HIstory. 31 

d. What is the difference between the American Revolu- 
tion and the American Revolutionary War? 

e. Which colonies were leaders of public opinion during 
this time ? 

/. Boundaries of the United States at the close of the war. 
Why was the western boundary located as it was ? 

g. What was accomplished for the rights of mankind, by 
this war ? 

General references: — Brancroft; Hildreth; Lossing's Field- 
Book of the Revolution ; Carrington's Battles of the Revolu- 
tion ; Biographies of the political and military leaders of the 
time ; also, works of fiction and poetry pertaining to events 
of this period. 

DEVELOPMENT AND ADOPTION OF THE CONSTITUTION. 

a. Removal of motives to union by the close of the Revo- 
lutionary War led to looseness in the relation of states to the 
general government. 

b. Defects of Articles of Confederation made a stronger 
general government necessary. 

c. Commercial rivalries led to calls for different conven- 
tions to revise the Articles. 

d. Inability of general government to collect taxes, to pay 
debts, or enforce the laws, made the people feel the need of a 
better constitution. 

e. Constitutional convention. 

/. Relation of Ordinance of 1787 to Constitution. See N. 
Review, Vol. cxxii., p. 229; Walkers History of Athens Co., 
Ohio. 

g. Ratification of the Constitution by the people in the 
separate States. 



32 Outline of a Course of Study 

Note. — Here should follow either the study of the Constitution 
from a good text book on the subject, or the teacher should present 
to his class a series of well prepared talks on the subject, in such way 
as to give his pupils clear ideas of the leading points and principles 
in it, so that the history following its adoption may be interpreted in 
the light of the Constitution. 

References. — Any good text-book on the Constitution ; Story 
on the Constitution ; Elliott's "Debates on the Constitution ;" 
Frothingham's "Rise of the Republic ;" Brancroft's "Foot- 
Prints of time;" "The Federalist." 

PERIOD OF NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, 1789— 186L 

1. Condition of the United States at beginning of period 
in respect of population, agriculture, commerce, manufactures, 
education, religion. 

2. Organization of the government under the Constitu- 
tion; Election of President and Congress; meeting of Con- 
gress ; inauguration of President ; organization of Executive 
Departments and appointment of heads ; organization of Ju- 
diciary and appointment of Judges ; Hamilton's financial 
scheme. 

3. Study of each Presidential administration as a part of 
the period, following the plan laid down in the introduction. 

For- a general review of the 'period the following topics are 
suggested : 

1. Viewing the period as a whole, what are its principal 
parts ? As a part, what is the whole ? Give its time limits. 

2. Name the Presidential administrations of the period, 
and give the time of each. 

3. What event marks the division between this period and 
the preceding ? What political parties were formed at this 



In United Stati- Bis tor y. 33 

time? What was the iminedi.ito quoskiou on which the peo- 
ple were divided ? 

4. Trace the histoiy of poiiiicd parties through the 
period. 

5. What were the iiiost iiap'-^rtant questions hefore Con- 
gress at the organiziiiion of Jsc government? How was each 
disposed of? 

6. Discuss ILirailloi.'.,^ financial scheme. What points did 
it comprehend ? 

7. Connection of the French Revolution with the history 
of the United States in the first three administrations. 

8. Foreign wars of the United States, time, causes, and 
results of each. 

9. Indian wars of tiiis period, time, causes, and rosuUs of 
each. 

10. Most important questions at issue in the war of 1812. 
These were of deep interest to all nations. 

They were : First, The commercial rights of neutral 
nations trading with belligerents. Second, The right of a cit- 
izen of one country to withdraw his allegiance, and become 
naturalized in another. How these questions were settled. 

11. The ''Monroe Doctrine," when and why promulgated. 

12. The History of the U. S. Bank. 

13. History of the great financial crises of the period. 

14. Important compromises of this period ; time of each, 
questions at issue, and how settled. 

15. Distinction between Mason and Dixon's Line and the 
Missouri Compromise Line. Location and history of each. 

16. Boundary of the U. S. on the S. W. as completed in 1821 
by treaty witli Spain. This boundary and the Missouri Com- 



34 Outline of a Coursb op Study 

promise thought in connection with the later political pros- 
pects of the North and South. 

17. Connection of the above points with the annexation of 
Texas, and the Mexican war. 

18. States admitted into the Union during the first forty 
years of the government; the order of admission observed 
and accoucited for. 

19. Additions of territory made to the U. S. since the 
organization of the government. When and by what means 
each addition was made. 

20. The doctrine of "States Rights," what is meant by it. 
Occasions upon which this question has been prominently 
before the people. 

21. Origin and influence of the maxim, "To the victors 
belong the spoils." 

22. Contrast between the Presidents previous to 1829, and 
those since. Causes and results of the difference. 

23. Increase and distribution of population. Blending of 
natibnalities, benefits and dangers of this. 

24. Influence of separation of Church and State. Multi- 
plication of religious denominations. 

25. Growth of industries. Influence of inventions. Some 
01 the most important ones named and their historical im- 
portance shown. 

26. Progress in science and popular education. History 
of public school system. 

27. Leading statesmen and writers of the period, and the 
work of each. 

28. Growth of sectional jealousy between North and South. 
Relation of this to the Civil war. 



In United States History. 35 

References. — Works of Adams, Jefferson, Calhoun, Ever- 
ett, Sumner ; Benton's 'Thirtj^ Year's View ;" Lossing'a 
"Field-Book of the war of 1812 ;" History of the Mexican 
War; Wilson's "Rise and Fall of the Slave Power in America;" 
Harpers' "First Century of the Republic ;" Centennial edi- 
tions of Lossing's, Barnes's, and Ridpath's Histories ; Bryant 
and Gay's "History of United States ;" Johnston's "American 
Politics ;" "American Statesman ;" Biographies of leading 
men. 

"VII. 
THE CIVIL WAR, 1861—1865. 

1. Its causes found in the preceding period. 

2. Its chief campaigns examined. 

3. Comparison and contrast of armies. 

4. Motives and principles involved. 

5. Finances of the Civil war. 

6. Foreign relations during this time. 

7. Results : — a. On the sections — North and South ; h. On 
the country as a whole. 

References. — Draper's, Greeley's, Stephens', Pollard's, 
Foote's, Abbott's, Mahan's, Lossing's, and Thayer's Histories 
of the war : Biographies of the leading men. 

RECONSTRUCTION OF THE UNION, AND PROBLEMS 
CONNECTED THEREWITH. 

On Reconstruction, there is little in books. Many able 
articles from both Northern and Southern men have appeared 
in the N. A. Review and other current magazines. 



NOTES 

ON THE 

CIVILIZATION 

OF THE 

ANCIENT MEXICANS/^PERUVIANS. 



MEXICANS. 

The ancient history of Mexico embraces two distinct 
periods : first, from the seventh to the twelfth century, when 
it was occupied by the Toltecs ; second, from the beginning 
of the thirteenth century to the year 1521, when it was under 
the dominion of the Aztecs, or Mexicans. 

The territory occupied by these peoples embraced but a 
small part of what is now the Republic of Mexico. It ex- 
tended, on the Gulf coast, from eighteen degrees to twenty- 
one degrees-north latitude ; and on the Pacific coast, from 
fourteen to nineteen degrees north. These are the limits 
assigned to it at the time of its conquest by the Spanish in 
1521. Although its area is not more than one hundred 
forty -four thousand square miles, its formation is such as to 
present a great variety of climate, and at the time of the con- 
quest, was capable of yielding nearly every fruit found be- 
tween the equator and the Arctic circle. 

The Toltecs were a people who had reached a considerable 
degree of civilization, as is attested by the remains of their archi- 
tecture, which were found by the Mexicans when they took 



38 Notes on the Civilization 

possession of the territory. It is not certainly known why 
the Toltecs left the country, but it is said, that having been 
decimated by famine, pestilence and war, they went south- 
ward into Central America, where they are supposed to have 
produced those wonderful specimens of architecture whose 
ruins can be seen to-day at Uxmal, Copan, and Palneque. 
These ruins, says a recent writer, can be compared only with 
the ruins of Rome in her glory. The Toltecs were succeeded by 
the Chichimecs, (or barbarians) who occupied the country 
about a century, when the Aztecs came in. After living a 
wandering life for some time, the Aztecs settled at the city of 
Mexico. It is quite certain that they were not so highly civ- 
ilized as the Toltecs, and much of the knowledge which they 
possessed when the Spaniards conquered them, was borrowed 
from their predecessors. The Aztecs were a conquering peo- 
ple, subjugating the neighboring tribes, or compelling them 
to pay tribute. Like the Gothic conquerors of Rome, they 
learned readily the lessons of a higher civilization, and at the 
time of the Spanish conquest, were, in some respects, the 
superiors of their conquerors. The principal features of their 
civilization may be stated under the following heads : Agri- 
culture, Manufactures, Trade or Barter, Architecture, Science, 
Education, Government and religion. 

Note. In the preparation of these notes the writer has consulted 
freely, Prescott's Conquest of Mexico ; Foster's Prehistoric Races of 
America ; Baldwin's Ancient America ; Drapers Intellectual Devel- 
opment of Europe ; various cyclopedias ; and a series of articles in the 
North American Review, so far as they have appeared at the time of 
writing. 

AGRICULTURE. 

The agriculture of the Mexicans was superior to that of 
Europe. They cultivated maize, tobacco, cotton, cacao, 



Of the Ancient Mexicans. 39 

maguey, vanilla, and a great variety of fruits- The maguey 
furnished food, drink, writing material, and roofs for the 
poorer class of houses. When their soil became exhausted, 
they restored it by rotation of crops, or by allowing it to lie 
fallow. The dryness of the soil was relieved by irrigation 
and by protecting their forests. They built excellent gran- 
aries into which they gathered their harvests. Almost all 
classes engaged in this employment, the women doing the 
lighter work of the field. As they used no animals of draft, 
the work was all done by human strength. The wealthy 
classes, especially the kings and nobles, had gardens stocked 
with fruits and flowers which for variety and richness were 
not equaled in Europe. These gardens were scientifically 
laid out, and the plants were arranged accordingly. In one 
part there was an aviary stocked with every species of 
birds known in the realm and noted for beaut}^ of plum- 
age or richness of song. In another part was an aqua- 
rium, built of stone and supplied with a great variety offish. 
Here and there were artificial fountains sparkling in the 
the sunlight. There were cascades, and statues, and many 
other things giving evidence of a degree of culture and a 
refinement of taste which do not belong to a savage people. 

MANUFACTURES. 

They manufactured various kinds of cloth from cotton and 
the fibres of the maguey ; leather, and exquisitely beautiful 
feather goods ; a great variety of utensils from gold, silver, 
copper, clay, and wood; tools, as, hammers, hatchets, chisels, 
and implements of war from coi)per, or a bronze of copper 
and tin. They made knives, razors, and serrated swords 
from obsidian, a very liard, dark, transparent mineral, found 



40 Notes on the Civilization 

abundantly in the mountains of Mexico. They were familiar 
with the casting of metals, iilthough,- like all the other native 
races of America, they knew nothing of the use of iron. Jew- 
elry and toys were made in al)undance. Some of the silver 
vases were^so large that a man could not encircle them with 
his arms. They imitated very nicely the ligures of animals, 
and could so skilfully mix the metals that the feathers of a 
bird, or the scales of a fish, should be alternately of gold and 
silver. A great variety of potter}^, for domestic use, and col- 
ored in every hue, was made from clay ; and the fields are. 
to-day, strewn with little figures of idols in every shape made 
of the same material. Some of their terra-cotta figures are 
genuine works of art. M. Ciiarnay, on the 12th of May, 1880, 
made an excavation in the ruins of Teotihuacan, thirty-one 
miles northwest of the city of Mexico, from which he made a 
collection of one hundred twenty-five heads of idols and 
many other objects, among them some perfectly modeled 
masks. He says, "Among these Indian masks which appear 
to reproduce all the races of Mexico from infancy to old age, 

* ^ * =^ ^ve find two figures of exceptional interest. 
One of these specimens is a negro's head with thick lips and 
woolly liAir, all perfectly designed ; the other, the face of a 
woman, rather disfigured by a broken nose, but plainly of 
European or Grecian type, and reminding us, by its features, 
of tlie Venus of Milo!" (North American Review, Sept., 1880). 

They manufactured dye-stuflsfr<j"i]i mhicral, vegetable, and 
animal material ; among them v a- lb>e rich crimson of the 
cochineal. Pulque, an intoxicating beverage, of wliich they 
were excessively fond, was made from the fermented juice of 
the maguey. The modern Moxicacn is quite as fond of it as was 



Op THE Ancient Mexicans. 41 

his Aztec predecessor. Books, paper, chocolate, medicines and 
perfumery, were also among their manufactures. 

TRADE OR BARTER. 

The Aztec merchants did not carry on their business in 
shops, but at fairs or market-places. They also traveled as 
itinerant traders, journeying in well armed caravans, going 
from city to city to attend the fairs, which were held in all 
the principal towns on the fifth, or last day of the week. 
These fairs were thronged by a numerous concourse of people, 
who came to buy or sell from all the neighboring country. A 
particular part of the market-place was assigned to each 
article. There were officers in attendance whose duty it 
was to preserve the peace and prevent frauds. Cheating of 
all kinds was severely punished. The articles bought and sold 
were their agricultural products, manufactured articles, and 
slaves, who were the carriers of the goods. When the slaves 
were exposed for sale they were dressed in their gayest cloth- 
ing, and instructed' to sing, dance, and display their little 
stock of personal accomplishments, so as to recommend them- 
selves to the purchaser. The slave-trade, among the Aztecs, 
was as honorable as it was among their Spanish conquerors. 
Traffic was carried on partly by barter, and partly by means 
of a sort of currency. This consisted of transparent quills of 
gold dust ; of bits of tin and of copper, ^ut in the form of a 
T ; and of bags of cacao, consisting of a specified number of 
grains. The calling of the merchant was considered a ver}^ 
honorable one, and was frequently the stepping-stone to high 
political position. 

ARCHITECTURE. 

Their houses were built of stone, of sun-dried brick, or of 



42 Notes on the Civilization 

clay. Some of the buildings, especially the temples and pal- 
aces, were coated with cement which was overlaid with white 
stucco very highly polished. The streets in the towns were 
paved either with stone or with colored and polished cement, 
and were kept very clean. In the ruins of some of the 
ancient cities portions of the streets are still found covered 
with this cement. The roofs of the poorer class of houses 
were thatched with palm leaves or a preparation from the 
maguey ; of the better classes, the roofs were flat or terraced. 
Cedar and other aromatic and ornamental woods were used 
for ceiling and for various kinds of fancy finishing. 

The residences of the nobles were artistically arranged, 
many of them covering vast areas of ground and enclosing an 
open court. Very often the sides were set off by marble por- 
ticoes, and the corners ornamented by sculptured stone-work. 

The descriptions given of the royal palaces remind one of 
the accounts given of Solomon's temple. If they were at all 
like the descriptions, they were wonderful. In the construc- 
tion of one of these palaces, two hundred thousand men are 
said to have been employed. It was decorated with beautifully 
wrought silver and gold, artistically carved wood, and mag- 
nificent tapestry of feather-work. In this building there 
were the council chamber and halls of justice, accommoda- 
tions for foreign ambassadors, and spacious apartments for men 
of science and letters, whom the monarch invited to his court. 
The dwellings were usually low, seldom being more than one 
story in height. The doors had no shutters, but instead, 
there were suspended in the door-ways, mats bordered by 
ornaments of copper or other metal, whose tinkling would 
announce the coming of the visitor. 



Of the Ancient Mexicans. 4:^ 

Their temples were built of sculptured stone, often reaching 
many stories in height and surmounted by a dome of 
polished black marble, studded with stars of gold in imi- 
tation of the sky. These temples frequently rested on pyra- 
mids of great size. One of these, called the Pyramid of the 
the Sun, now standing at the ruined city of Teotihuacan, 
has a base seven hundred sixty-one feet square, and a height 
of two hundred sixteen feet. Charnay says it exactly faces 
the four cardinal points. 

They built strong fortresses of stone, frequently surround- 
ing the fort proper, as well as their cities, with high walls. 

Excellent bridges were common, and many of them could 
be drawn or raised. Fine aqueducts were built for the purpose 
of conveying water from distant springs into the cities. 

On the whole, their architecture had not the lightness and 
airiness of that of the Spaniards, yet, it was solid, and at the 
same time was not destitute of beauty. 

SCIENCE. 

Astronomy, — They had ascertained the globular form of the 
earth, and the obliquity of the ecliptic. They knew the cause 
of eclipses, had ascertained the period of the solstices and 
equinoxes, and had made sun-dials for determining the hour 
of the day. At the time of their conquest they had a calen- 
dar that was more perfect in its adjustment of civil to solar 
time than any other known, since more than five centuries 
must pass, before the loss of a single day would occur. 

The year was divided into eighteen months of twenty days 
each, five complementary days being added each year to make 
up the three hundred sixty-five days. These five days did 
not belong to any month, and were considered as being 



44 Notes on the Civilization 

peculiarly unlucky. To provide for the six additional hours 
of the year they added twelve and a half days every fifty-two 
years. The month was divided into four weeks of five days 
each, the last of which was the day of the public fair or mar- 
ket. The day was divided into sixteen hours, beginning at 

sunrise. 

Note. — A large stone, about eight feet in diameter, twenty-seven 
feet in circumference, and thirty-three inches in height, was digged 
up in the great square of the city of Mexico in 1790. In the top of it is a 
circular depression or oup^ eighteen inches in diameter and six inches 
deep which communicates with a channel terminating in the 
circumference. The edge is covered with groups of sculptured im- 
ages. At first this stone was supposed to be connected with the 
astronomical science of the Aztecs, and it was named the sun-stone or 
the calendar ; but later, other interpretations have been put upon it. 
For a statement of the different views concerning it, see M. Charnay's 
article in the North American Review, September, 1880. For a fine 
representation of it, see the number for October, 1880. 

Arithmetic. — They had a system of written as well as of oral 
arithmetic. The first twenty numbers were expressed by a cor- 
responding number of dots. The first five had specific names ; 
after which up to ten, they were represented by combining the 
representative of five with that ofoneof the preceding numbers. 
Thus, five and one for six, ( :'•••) five and two for seven, ( ::•" ) 
and so on. Ten was viewed as two fives, fifteen as three fives, 
twenty as four fives, and each received a separate name. Ten 
was represented by two rows of five dots each, fifteen by three 
rows, and twenty by four. Twenty was also expressed by a 
separate hieroglyphical symbol, a flag. Larger sums were reck- 
oned by twenties, and were represented by repeating the num- 
ber of flags. The square of twenty, four hundred, had a sep- 
arate sign, a plume, and so had the cube of twenty, or eiglit 
thousand, which was represented by a purse, or sack. For 
greater expedition, they denoted fractions of the larger sums 
by drawing only a part of the object. Thus half or three-fourths 



Of the Ancient Mexicans. 45 

of a plume or purse represented that portion of the sums 
denoted by those objects. This is said to be the whole of their 
arithmetical system of notation, by the use of which they 
were enabled to indicate any integral quantity. 

Botany. — They knew something of botany as was shown by 
the scientific arrangement of their gardens, though they had 
not made the progress in thi^* science that they had in astron- 
omy and mathematics. 

Medicine. — Perhaps no country in the world aftbrds a 
greater variety of medicinal plants than Mexico, and their 
virtues were well known to the Mexican physicians who are 
said to have studied medical botany as a science. 

History and Chronology ranked as sciences among them, and 
persons were especially trained for keeping the records of time 
and events. These records were kept by a kind of hieroglyph- 
ics, or picture writing. 

All their scientific works, astronomical, chronological, his- 
torical, &c., were submitted to the judgment of a Council of 
Music, as it was called, before they could be made public. 

EDUCATION. 

The education of the youth was monopolized by the 
priesthood, thus keeping societ}^ within their control. There 
were buildings erected within the enclosures of the temples, 
for the special purposes of education. Here the children of 
both sexes of the upper and middle classes were placed at an 
early age. The girls were entrusted to the care of priest- 
esses, from whom they learned various feminine employments, 
especially the weaving and embroidering of rich coverings 
for the altars of the gods. They were also instructed in 
music and the songs of the bards. 



46 Notes on the Civilization 

The boys were drilled in the performance of certain rites 
and ceremonies connected with their religion. In the higher 
schools they were initiated into the mysteries of hieroglyphics, 
were taught their traditionary history, tlie principles of gov- 
ernment, and such branches of science as were within the 
knowledge of the priesthood. 

Great attention was paid to tlie moral discipline of both 
sexes. The most perfect order prevailed, and offences were 
punished with the utmost rigor, sometimes with death itself. 

At a suitable age for marrying, or for entering the world the 
pupils were dismissed from the convent, as it may be called, 
and those who were most competent received such recom- 
mendations as often introduced them to responsible situations 
in public life. 

The council of music, already referred to, decided on the 
qualifications of the instructors in the various branches of 
science, and examined the pupils to determine whether or not 
they had been well taught ; if not, it had the authority to 
punish the instructors. This council seems to have been a 
general board of education for the whole country. On stated 
days its members sat in judgment on the merits of historical 
compositions, and poems treating of moral and traditional 
topics recited by their authors. On these occasions the mon- 
archs and a large concourse of interested spectators were 
present to enjoy the recitations. Prizes were distributed to the 
successful competitors. In this way advancement in science 
and literature was secured, and a taste was cultivated in the 
people, which found its gratification in intellectual pleasures. 

GOVERNMENT. 

The legislative authority was vested in the monarch, 



Of the Ancient Mexicans. 47 

though he himself was subject to the laws of the realm. He 
was also chief executive, but the burdens of government were 
distributed among a number of departments ; viz., the Coun- 
cil of State, Council of War, Council of Justice, Council of 
Finance, and Council of Music or Education. 

The council of state was the king's . cabinet of immediate 
advisers. The laws were reduced to writing, and were rigidly 
enforced. The government mandates and public intelligence 
were transmitted by a well organized postal service of couri- 
ers. Post-houses were established on all the great roads, 
about six miles apart. Each courier ran at the top of his 
speed from his own station to the next, where he transmitted 
his news or package to another, who, in turn, carried it to the 
third. In this way a distance of two hundred miles a day 
was frequently made. It was no unusual thing for the mon- 
arch to eat fish for his breakfast which had been taken 
the previous morning from the Gulf of Mexico, two hundred 
miles distant from the capital. 

Marriage was regarded as an important social engagement, 
and was celebrated with as much ceremony as in any Chris- 
tian country. The marriage relation was held so sacred that 
a special tribunal was instituted to determine questions per- 
taining to it, and divorces could not be obtained except with 
great difficulty, and after a patient hearing of the parties 
before this court. Polygamy was practiced, but most com- 
monly by the upper classes. 

Slavery was recognized in the case of prisoners of war, crim- 
inals, and debtors. The slave, however, was allowed to have 
his own family, to hold property, and even other slaves, but 
his children were free. No one could be born a slave in Mex- 



48 Notes on the Civilization 

ico, a provision found in no other country of the world where 
slavery has been recognized. 

The council of war had general charge of the military 
affairs of the realm. The profession of arms was the recog- 
nized vocation of the nobles. The armies, whether in service 
in the field, or in garrisons, were supported by taxation on the 
products of the soil and on manufactures. The armies were 
divided into corps of ten thousand each, and these again into 
regiments of four hundred. Standards and banners were 
used, the troops marched to military music, and were pro- 
vided with hospitals, army surgeons, and a medical staff. 

The council of justice was the supreme court of the country. 
The judges w^ere appointed by the monarch, but he could not 
remove them at will. They received appeals from low'er 
tribunals, both in civil and criminal cases, and their decision 
was final. 

The council of finance had general charge of the collection 
and care of the public revenues. These were derived chiefly 
from taxes on agricultural and manufactured products. Tax- 
gatherers were distributed throughout the kingdom, and were 
exceedingly rigorous in their exactions. Every defaulter was 
liable to be sold as a slave. 

The taxes were not paid in money, but in a portion of 
the articles produced. A receiver-general was stationed at 
the capital, who received and stored in the public granaries, 
the contributions as they came in. He had a map of the 
whole empire, and with it minute specifications of the taxes 
assessed on every part. These taxes were light at first, but 
at the coming of the Spaniards they were very oppressive, 
which led some of the provinces to join Cortez against the 



Of the Ancient Mexicans. 49 

king, thus making the conquest much easier. The duties 
of the council of music have ah-eady been discussed under 
education. 

RELIGION. 

Their Oi^eed. — They all recognized the existence of one su- 
preme Creator and Lord of the universe. 

The higher classes were strictly unitarian, acknowledging 
but one divinity, and he almighty, invisible, and unrepre- 
sentable. They taught their children not to confide in idols, 
but only to conform to their worship in deference to public 
opinion. They were exhorted to "aspire to that heaven where 
all is eternal and where corruption never comes." 

The lower classes believed that the behests of the one 
supreme deity were executed by a host of inferior ones, to 
each of whom some special day or appropriate festival was 
consecrated. They worshiped more than two hundred inferior 
divinities. 

At the head of all these inferior divinities was the war-god. 

This was the patron god of the nation. His temples were 
the most stately and august of all the public edifices. His 
fantastic image was loaded with costly ornaments, and his 
altars reeked with the blood of human sacrifices in every 
town of the empire. 

Next to the war-god was the god pf the air who had once 
dwelt among them and instructed them in the use of metals, 
in agriculture, and in the art of government. From some 
cause he was driven from the country by a superior deity. 
He departed to the east across th« Gulf of Mexico. As he 
was leaving he told his followers that he would again visit 
them. He was described as a tall personage with a white 



•30 Notes ox the Civilization 

skin, long dark hair, and a flowing beard. The Mexicans 
confidently expected his return at about the time the Span- 
iards m[ide their appearance. Cortez early learned this tra- 
dition and announced that he had been sent by their long 
looked-for deity. 

They believed in a future state of existence in wliich 
rewards and punishments were to be meted out. They imag- 
ined three separate states in the future life ; first, a hell of 
darkness for the wicked, which class, according to their belief, 
comprehends the greater part of mankind ; second, a nega- 
tive existence of indolent contentment for those who died of 
certain j^eculiar diseases; third, a paradise of joy for the 
heroes who fell in battle, or volunteered to offer themselves 
as sacrifices to the gods. 

It was one of their doctrines that men do not sin of their 
own free will, but because of the planetary influences under 
which they are born. 

Rites and Ceremonies. — These rites were administered and 
the ceremonies performed by a very numerous priest-hood 
whose power exceeded that attained by the Roman Catholic 
priest-hood. This is sliown by the fact that absolution ])y 
the priest for civil offences wns an acquittal in the eye of" the 
law. 

At the birth of a child, the rite of baptism was administered 
by the priests. They had monastic institutions, the inmates 
of which prayed three times a day. Ihey practiced ablu- 
tions, vigils, and penance by flagellations or by pricking with 
thorns. The}^ compelled the people to confession, required 
of them penance, and gave absolution. Confession was per- 
formed but once during life, the rich, sacrificing at that time, 



Of the Ancient Mexicans. 51 

numerous slaves as propitiation for their sins. At the death 
of an individual imposing burial rites were administered, 
prominent among which, if he were rich, was the offering of 
great numbers of his slaves, frequently one hundred, as sacri- 
fice to the gods. At the dedication of their temples, thous- 
ands of prisoners of war were offered up. The victims were 
taken to the top of the temple, where, in the ^jresence of 
the multitude of spectators, they were placed one by one on 
the convex surface of the stone oi sacrifice, which stood in 
front of the recess occupied by the idol. Five priests held the 
victim on the stone in such a way. that his breast was heaved 
upward. The chief priest then laid open the breast, and 
quickly plucked out the heart, which he held up toward the 
sun as an offering ; then turning to .the idol he threw the 
heart at its feet. The bodies were immediately cast down the 
stairway, where those who had made them prisoners seized 
them, carried them off, divided them among themselves, and 
feasted on them with great ceremony. 

In these degrading performances we see the greatest hind- 
rance to their progress in civilization. But revolting as these 
cruelties are, and opposed as they are to the true spirit of civ- 
ilization, still in some of the most polished countries of Eu- 
rope after the establishment of the inquisition, there were 
tens of thousands of human victims slaughtered in the name, 
but surely not in the si)irit, of the Christian religion. It be- 
comes us, therefore, to think charitably of the religion of the 
Ancient Mexicans. 



52 Notes on the Civilization 

THE PERUVIANS. 

At the time of the Spanish invasion tlie Empire of Peru 
extended along the Pacific coast of South America, from 
about two degrees of north Latitude, to about thirty-seven 
south. Its extent from east to west is not so well known, 
though it pro])ably did not extend much beyond the Andes 
to the east. The country, therefore, consisted principally of 
the great table land of the Andes, a portion of the eastern 
slope, the western slope, and the narrow strip between the 
foot of the mountains and tlie Pacific. The summits of the 
mountains are covered with eternal snow which extracts the 
moisture from the eastern winds, giving to the eastern slope 
a copious rain-tall, while the other portions of the country 
are left very dry. Notwithstanding this, the principal part 
of the population was found to the west of the eas^tern slope. 

The civilization of these people will be treated under the 
same topics tliat were used in treating of the Mexicans. The 
same authorities have been consulted, excepting the North 
American Review. 

AGRICULTURE. 

The dry slope of the Andes, under the careful culture of 
the Ancient Peruvians, became one vast garden, immense ter- 
races having been made wherever necessary, and irrigation 
carried on by canals and aqueducts constructed on a scale 
unequaled l)y any other people in the world. Advantage was 
taken of the different mean annual temperatures of different 
altitudes to pursue the cultivation of products requiring a great 
variety of climate. In this pursuit they excelled the Mexi- 
cans, following it even more scientifically than they All 
classes engaged in it. The monarch, on the occasion of one of 



Of the Ancient Peuvians. 53 

their great annual festivals, set the example in the presence 
of all the people by turning up the earth with a golden plough. 
The great canals and aqueducts were built at the public 
expense. They were constructed of large slabs of stone, 
nicely fitted together, and, by means of side-drains, the}'- 
moistened the lands of the lower levels through which they 
passed. One of these water-ways was between four hundred 
and five hundred miles long. In some places it was cut 
through solid rock, in others, conducted around mountains, 
and in still others, carried across streams, marshes, and 
mighty chasms. These works were superintended by over- 
seers appointed by the monarch, and their dut}^ was to attend 
to the distribution of the water along the route, the law pre- 
scribing how much should be drawn to the land of each 
person. 

Note. — Dr. kSteere of Michigan University, who has traveled quite 
extensively in South America, told the writer a few years ago, that 
he had seen portions of this great aqueduct in a very perfect state of 
preservation, and doing duty just as it did probably five hundred 
years ago, though not in the liands of so skillful agriculturists as it 
was then. 

In order to utilize the sides of the mountains, great terraces 
were cut, the lower ones containing hundreds of acres; the 
upper ones wide enough to contain only a few rows of corn. 
Many of these shelves were so stony that earth had to be 
spread upon them before they could be cultivated. Fertil- 
izers were abundantly used, especially guano. This was, as 
it is still, found in immense quantities on many of the little 
islands along the coast. The islands were assigned by law 
to the different districts which lay adjacent to them, and all 
encroachment on the rights of another was severely punished. 

Tlie guano-producing birds were protected by law, and the 



54 Notes on the Civilization 

killing of one of them was punished with death. As another 
means of fertilizing tlie ground, in some places, a few little 
fishes were planted in the hills of corn or other grain. 

The plow used by them was generally a strong, sharj) 
pointed stake, with a cross-piece about twelve inches from 
the point. On this cross-piece the plowman placed his foot to 
force it into the ground. Having no animals of draft, the 
2)low was drawn by six or eight strong men, who kept time 
as they moved, b}^ chanting their national songs, in which 
they were accompanied b}^ the women, who followed, break- 
ing up the clods with their rakes. 

They cultivated the banana, cassava, maize, maguey, qui- 
noa, (a small grain resembling ricej tobacco, cinchona, and 
the tuber mis-named the Irish potato. 

The gardens of the nobles and kings, or Incas, were ar- 
ranged with even greater splendor than those of the Mexicans. 

ARCHITECTURE. 

Their buildings were made principally of stone or brick. 
The bricks were made of a tough kind of clay mixed with 
straw. This mixture was made into large square blocks, 
much larger than our bricks. The walls were very thick, but 
low, seldom more than twelve or fourteen feet higli, a two 
story house being a very rare thing. This fact is due to 
the prevalence of eartliquakes. The Spaniards built tall edi- 
fices, many of which have been totally demolished, while 
some of the low, thick walls of tlie Incas remain to this day. 
The roofs were usually of straw or wood ; though some on 
the smaller houses were of a singular bell-shape, and made 
of a composition of cement and pebbles. The doors were the 
only openings for the admission of light. These were like 



Of the Ancient Peruvians. 55 

the Egyptian doors, narrower at tlie top than at the hottoni. 
The rooms had no conniiiinication with one another, but 
usually opened into a court. The stones of their buildings 
were usually rough, except at the joints, where they were made 
to fit with the utmost precision. They did not mortise their 
timbers together, and being ignorant of iron, they knew no bet- 
ter wa}^ of joining them than by tying them with cords of 
the maguey. There were many otlier incongruities in their 
houses ; for example, the building that was thatched with 
straw, and destitute of windows, glowed within with tapes- 
tries of gold and silver. The exterior of their buildings was 
destitute of that ornamentation which cliaracterized the 
.architecture of the Mexicans. 

Their temples were very numerous but not tall. The 
greatest of them was at Cuzco, the capital. It consisted of a 
principal building and several chapels and inferior edifices,- 
(covering a large area. It was in the heart of the city, and 
was enclosed \fy a wall, which, like the buildings, was of stone. 
The interior was literally a mine of gold. On the western 
wall, directly opposite the great eastern door, was a repre- 
sentation of the sun, their great deity, consisting of a human 
countenance looking forth from amidst innumerable rays of 
light. This figure was engraved on a massive plate of gold 
of enormous size thickly powdered with emeralds and other 
])i'ecious stones. As the rays of the rising sun streamed through 
the great eastern door, they fell upon this image lighting up 
the whole apartment with a wonderful effulgence which was 
reflected and re-reflected by the golden ornaments with 
which the walls and ceiling were everywhere studded. 

One of the adjacent chapels was dedicated to the moon, 



56 Notes on the Civilization 

and contained a silver image of that object, made in the same 
way as that of the sun. All the decorations in this chapel 
were of silver. Another was dedicated to the stars, another to 
thunder and lightning, and yet another, to the rainbow, 
whose many colored arch spanned the walls with hues almost 
as radiant as those of Iris herself. Every ornament, vase, or 
vessel ; every imitation of flowers, fruits, or animals ; every 
tool, even, for the cultivation of the gardens, belonging to the 
temples was of gold or silver. 

In and around Cuzco there were no less than four hundred 
places of worship, which were cared for by a very numerous 
retinue of priests and attendants, the number at the great 
temple alone, being four thousand. 

They built wonderful roads in every direction from the capi- 
tal. Two extended from Cuzco to Quito, one on the plateau, 
the other along the coast. They were twenty feet Avide, and 
were paved with flag-stones, or Macadamized with a substance 
as hard, and almost as smooth as marble. No*obstacles were 
too great to be overcome. The road on the plateau was cut, in 
some places for miles, through solid rock ; liideous ravines 
were filled up Avith solid masonry ; precipices were scaled by 
stairways hewn out of the rock ; rivers were crossed by 
bridges suspended in the air, or where such l)ridges could not 
be made, they were crossed by ferry-boats or rafts on which 
sails were used. 

The coast road was protected by a wall on either side, and 
rows of sweet scented shrubbery and shade trees were planted 
on the border. On all the great roads stones were set up 
after the manner of mile stones. 

Post-houses were built about five miles apart, and twelve 



Op THE Ancient Peruvians. 57 

miles apart were great caravansaries or inns for the accom- 
modation of tlie Inca or his troops. Almost all the travel 
was for the purposes of the government. 

MANUFACTURES. 

Many of their manufactures were quite similar to those of 
the Mexicans. Besides those, they made a coarse kind of cloth 
from the wool of the llama and the alpaca ; and a very fine, 
almost silky article, was made from the wool of the huanaco 
and the vicuna, two species of wild sheep inhabiting the 
mountain districts. This wool was obtained in the following 
manner : every year great hunts were organized in which 
thousands of men engaged. They were armed with poles 
and spears, and so distributed as to form a circle of immense 
extent that should embrace the whole country to be hunted 
over. All kinds of game were driven toward the center of the 
circle. The beasts of prey were slain without mercy, and the 
others, consisting chiefly of deer, the huanacos, and the 
vicunas, were not molested until they were concentrated upon 
some convenient plain. The male deer, and some of the 
coarser kinds of sheep were slaughtered. Their skins were 
saved for leather, and their flesh was distributed among the 
people, who dried it and ate it. This was the only animal 
food eaten by the lower classes of Peru. The fine-wooled 
sheep, however, were caught, carefully sheared, and then 
allowed to escape. The wool thus obtained was taken to 
government store houses, where it was given out to the 
most skillful workmen to be made into cloth for the kings 
and the nobility. 

These hunts were not repeated in the same district oftener 
than once in four vears 



D^ Notes on the CitiLizATiox 

From corn, a kind of liquor was manufactured, of which 
the people were very fond, and ot^ which they often drank to 
excess. 

Every man in Peru was expected to be familiar with the 
manufacture of all those articles most essential to the house- 
hold, but there were certain ones who were specially trained 
to those occupations which furnished articles of luxury to the 
higher classes of society. These special callings, like all the 
professions and offices in Peru, descended from father to 
son. Hence, while there was little originality or boldness of 
design in their work, there was much skill in execution. 

Like the Mexicans, the Peruvians made tools of a bronze of 
copper and tin. The qualities and characteristics of this sub- 
stance, found in these widely distant regions, are almost 
exactly identical. In color it . resembles gold ; its specitic 
gravity is a little less than 9.; it is malleable, bat breaks 
under sudden and strong bending or twisting; the propor- 
tions of the two metals range from about .90 copper with .10 
tin, to .98 copper with .02 tin. Many specimens have been 
chemically analyzed, all giving results about as aV)ove stated. 

It seems strange that the Mexicans and Peruvians should 
have no knowledge of each oUier, and yet do the same thing 
in tlie same wa3^ 

Although modern science can exactly determine these pro- 
portions by analysis, it has not 3^et succeeded in combining 
them to produce a bronze possessing exactly the same char- 
acteristics. 

TRADE OR BARTER. 

The Peruvians had no kind of money or other general 
medium of exchange as the Mexicans had, but they bartered 



Of the Ancient Peruvians. 59 

tUeir manufactured and agricultural products at fairs which 
occurred three times a month. They had scales for determin- 
ing the quantity of articles, while among the Mexicans, noth- 
ing of the kind was found. 

SCIENCE. 

In astronomy they were far inferior to the Mexicans. The 
equinoxes and solstices were determined, however; their year 
ending at the winter solstice. Their calendar was imperfect. 
They had not those accurate divisions of time used hy the 
Mexicans, and did not know^ the cause of eclipses. 

They had no science of mathematics, their mathematical cal- 
culations being made with knotted strings called quipus. By 
combinations of these they represented any required number, 
but only those who were specially trjiined to their use, could 
interpret them. 

There was among them no such thing as medical or botanical 
science. Their medicine man was little more than a conjurer. 

EDUCATION. 

''Science Avas not intended for the people, but for those of gen- 
erous blood. Persons of low degree are only puffed up by it, and 
rendered vain and arrogant. Neither should such meddle 
with tlie affairs of government; for this would bring higli 
offices into disrepute, and cause detriment to the state." This 
is given by Prescott as a favorite maxim of Tupac Inca Yu- 
panqui, one of the most famous of the Peruvian sovereigns. It 
furnishes the key to the educational system of Peru, as it 
does, indeed, to the whole system of government. 

As might be expected from the above, education was con- 
fined entirely to the nobility. The young nobles were in- 
structed in such matters as would concern them in after life. 



BO KOTES ON THE CIVILIZATION 

They studied the laws and principles of their government, the 
rites of their religion, the correct use of their own language, 
the chronicles of the deeds of their ancestors, and the use of 
the quipus, or knotted strings, by means of which their 
records were kept. They had no books or paper, and no 
kind of writing. In their schools, instruction was given by 
lectures or conversation. The events of their history were 
largely transmitted by tradition, or by the ballads of their 
minstrels. 

GOVERNMENT. 

Their government was one of the most perfect absolutism 
ever known. The monarch was both law-giver and the law. 
Any violation of his ordinance was sacrilege, for he was 
regarded as a divine being, inasmuch as he was descended 
from the great divinity, the sun. 

Society was divided into castes, the limits of which could 
never be overstepped. 

The Incas and nobles practiced polygamy, but the lower 
castes were limited to one partner each. On a certain day 
each year, all the young persons of marriageable age, — men 
twenty-four, women eighteen or twenty — came together in 
the great squares of the towns all over the empire. The mag- 
istrate took the hands of those couples to be united, placed 
them within each other, and pronounced the parties man and 
wife. There was little freedom in the choice of partners; 
indeed it may almost be said that the government made all 
the matches. A house and a piece of ground were provided 
for each pair at the expense of the government, and at the 
birth of each child a little more ground was added. Festivi- 
ties followed the marriage ceremony, and for a few days, since 



Of the Ancient Peruvians. 61 

the weddings all took place on the same day, there was one 
universal bridal jubilee tliroughout the empire. 

The Peruvian army was managed in much the same way 
as that of the Mexicans. 

In Peru there was no personal freedom. Everytliing was 
under the eye of the government. The individual was de- 
pendent for everything. No one was allowed even to be 
happy in his own way, for all his enjoyments were prescribed 
by law. The government of the Tncas was the mildest, but 
the most searching of despotisms. 

RELIGION. 

In their religion we lind much less that is revolting than in 
that of the Mexicans. The most enlightened believed in an 
invisible, unrepresentable Deity, l)ut the masses of the people 
worshiped the sun as their god. They believed in the eternal 
life of the soul, and in the resurrection of the body. Like the 
Egyptians, they embalmed the dead that the bodies might 
be p'cserved for the soul on its return. Their sacrifices were 
principally the fruits of the ground. Human sacrifices were 
seldom offered except on the occasion of the birth of a royal 
heir, a coronation, a great victory, or the death of an Inca. 
On these occasions the victim was a little child or a beautiful 
maiden. These solemnities were not followed by cannil)al 
orgies, as was the case in Mexico. They had many religious 
festivals, the greatest of which was in honor of tlie sun, and 
lasted three days, terminating with the favorite amusements 
of the Peruvians, music, dancing, and drinking. 

CONCLUSION. 

A comparison of tlie Mexican with the Peruvian civiliza- 
tion will show that in agriculture and some of the mechanic 



f>2 Notes on the Civilization 

arts, Peru was superior; in literature and science, Mexico 
had reached a higher phice ; in the consoUdation of govern- 
ment and in the certainty of its action Peru was ahead; but 
in personal independence and freedom of thought and action 
Mexico was in advance. In their religious systems we find 
much less that was revolting and cruel among the Peruvians. 
It is to be regretted that we do not have the means of tracing 
the steps in the growth of their civilization from their own 
records, but when these countries were conquered by the 
Spanish, — Mexico in 1519 — 1521, by Cortez ; Peru in 1531 — 
1532. oy Pizarro, — everything of the nature of books or records 
wjis destroyed that the Spanish priests could secure. In the 
towns of Mexico great heaps of manuscripts were collected and 
burned as "works of tlie devil." These books represented the 
labors of many a Mexican poet, historian, and scientist. All 
that is known of their history previous to the conquest, has 
been gleaned from stray works that escaped the fanaticism of 
the bigoted Spaniards, or from the vague traditions of the con- 
quered people. 

'jNIexico and Peru would have been vastly different to-day 
iftlie Spaniards had l)een sufficiently controlled by Christian- 
ity and civilization to treat the people justly, and to seek 
nothing more than honora])le and friendly intercourse with 
them. At no time since the Spanish conquest has either 
country been as orderly, as pros]ierous or as populous as 
tliey found it. Industry and thrift have been supplanted by 
laziness and beggarl}'- poverty." 

Draper says. "The enormous crime of Spain in destroying 
this civilization has never yet been appreciated in Europe. 
After an attentive consideration of the facts in the case, T 



Ok thk Ancient Pkiujvians. 68 

agree in the conclusion of Carli that at the time of the con- 
quest the n.oral man in Peru, was superior to the European, 
and I will add, tlie intellectual man also. In Spain, or even 
in all Euro})e, was there to he found a political system car- 
ried out into the practical details of actual life, and expressed 
in great puhlic works as its outward, visihle, and enduring 
sign, which could at all compare with that of Peru ? Its only 
competitor was the Italian system, hut tliat for a long time 
had been actively used to rei)ress the intellectual ad- 
vancement of man. In vain the Spaniards excuse their 
atrocities on the plea that a nation like the Mexican, which 
permitted cannibalism, should not be regarded as having 
emerged from the barbarous state, and that one which, like 
Peru, sncrificed human hecatombs at the funeral solemni- 
ties of great men, must have been savage. Let it be remem- 
l^ered that there is no civilized nation whose popular prac- 
tices do not lag ])eliind its intelligence; let it be remembered 
that in this respect Spain herself also was guilty. In America, 
human sacrifice was part of a religious solemnity, unstained 
by passion. The burning of Jews and heretics in Europe 
was a dreadful cruelty ; not an ottering to heaven, ])ut a grati- 
fication of spite, liatred, fear, vengeance — tlie most malignant 
yjassions of earth. There was no spectacle on the American 
continent at whicli a just man nught so deeply blusli for his 
race as that jjresented in Western Europe when tlie heretic 
from whom confession had been wrung by torture, passed to 
his stake in a sleeveless garment, with flames of fire and effi- 
gies of an abominable import depicted upon it. Let it be 
remembered that by the in(iuisition, from 1481 to 1808, three 
hundred forty thousand persons were punished, and of these 



64 Notes on the Civilization 

nearly thirty -two thousand were burnt. Let it be also remem- 
bered that, considering the worthlessness of the body of man, 
and that, at the best, it is at last food for the worm — consid- 
ering the infinite value of his immortal soul, for the redemp- 
tion of which the agony and death of the Son of God were 
not too great a price to pay — indignities oifered to the body 
are less wicked than indignities offered to the soul. It would 
be well for him who comes forward as an accuser of Mexico 
and Peru in their sin, to dispose of the fact that at that period 
the entire authorty of Europe was directed to the perversion, 
and even total repression of thought — to an enslaving of the 
mind, and making that noblest creation of Heaven a Avorth- 
less machine. To taste of human flesh is less criminal in the 
eye of God than to stifle human thought." 

Theories Concerning Their Origin. 

The origin of these peoples and their civilization, is a topic 
that has been the subject of the most absurd and fanciful 
speculation, as well as of deep scientific and philosophical re- 
search. The theories advanced are almost as numerous as 
the men who have studied the subject. Like most nations 
whose civilization reaches back of their records, both the Mex- 
icans and the Peruvians had their myths and traditions concern- 
ing their origin. For these, the reader is referred to Prescott's 
works. 

The following are some of the theories that have been pro- 
mulgated by diff'erent writers on the sul)ject : 

1. The Lost Ten Tribes of Israel. The Spanish priests very 
early devised the theory that the civilization of these people 
was of Jewish origin. The ground of the theory was, the many 
(imagined) resemblances between their religious rituals, the 



Of the Ancient Peruvians. 65 

similarity of architecture, and the use of the cross as a symboL 
According to this monkish story these tribes left Palestine, 
traversed the whole extent of Asia, crossed over into America 
at Behring's strait, went down the Pacific coast, and estab- 
lished a wonderful civilization in that part of the continent 
where the great ruins are found. This theory does not re- 
ceive credence from the learned of our own time. 

2. Tlie ^^ Atlantu''^ Theory. This theory supposes that where 
the central bed of tlie Atlantic Ocean now is, there was in the 
remote past a great peninsula, or island, perhaps, of the West- 
ern Continent projecting far toward Europe and Africa ; that 
the West Indies and the Azores are the mountains of that 
region which by some great convulsion of nature was sub- 
merged ; and that in the great fertile plain lying between 
the islands mentioned arose the first civilization of mankind, 
which extended westward to the present America, and east- 
ward to Egypt. In the writings of Plato reference is 
made to the Atlantes, a powerful people, who, under their 
three kings, ruled Atlantis, several other islands, and some 
parts of the continent. Solon learned the account of the 
island and its submergence, from the Egyptian priests. Many 
other writers of antiquity mention a great continent or island 
called Atlantis, lying to the westward of the Old World, and 
assert that its people and those of Europe had intercourse 
with each other. Brasseur de Bourbourg, who is the great 
advocate of this theory, claims that in the New world he finds 
both traditions and records similar in import to those of the 
Greeks and Egyptians. 

3. The Malay Thteory. There is some plausibility in the 
supposition that the Malays brought civilization to this 



66 Notes on the Civilization 

countiy. Malay dialects are spoken in many of the Pacific 
Islands reaching as far eastward as Easter Island which is in 
the same longitude as the western part of Mexico, and the 
same latitude as the southern part of the Ancient Peruvian 
Empire. Traditions in both Mexico and Peru say that their 
coasts were visited by a foreign people who came from the west 
in ships. There are many great architectural remains in the 
Malay archipelago giving evidence of a degree of civilization 
which, situated as it was, must pre-suppose a knowledge of 
navigation. The languages of Mexico and Peru, as well as 
the architectural remains, have nothing in common with 
those of Malaysia, to warrant the assumption that the civil- 
ization of one was derived from the other. 

4. The Phoenician Theory. Of all the theories supposing 
the civilization of the New World to liave been derived from 
the old, this is probably the most plausible. The Phoeni- 
cians were the greatest maritime adventurers of ancient times. 
They colonized all shores of the Mediterranean, circunmavi- 
gated Africa, and pushed far into the Atlantic beyond the 
straits of Gibraltar. They penetrated every known sea, and 
traded on every known coast. It is thought by some that 
the frequent reference by the ancients to a great continent 
beyond the Atlantic, must have come through a knowledge 
of it obtained from the Phoenicians. Since tliey were such 
great traders and colonizers it is not difficult to conceive that 
they may have planted colonies here. Traditions of the 
Mexicans and Central Americans say their first civilizers were 
bearded white men wlio came from the east in ships. The 
same arguments may be urged against this as against the 
Malay theory. 



Ov THE Ancient I^ekuvians. 67 

•5. The Mound Builder Theory. By some it is thought that 
the Mound Builders, were driven from the Mississippi Valley 
to the southward, where they developed the civilization found 
there by the European discoverers. Others reverse the theory, 
and say that the civilization of the Mound Builders came 
from the south. 

6. The Mongolian Theory. This theory supposes that the 
Mongols, or a kindred people, crossed Behrings' strait, wan- 
dered to the southward and settled in the valleys of Mexico 
and the country further to the south. 

7. The Autochthonic Theory. According to this hypothesis 
the people found here were created here, and developed their 
civilization originally. This is the the theory of many able 
scientists. It was held by Prof. Agassiz, in accordance with 
Piis doctrine of "multiple centres of creation." 

The investigations of archa3ologists are leading them to 
assign to the origin of civilization, not only in America, but in 
the Old World, a much greater antiquity than was formerly 
accepted. 



PREPARATION 

FOR THE 

DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. 



Note. In the preparation of the following matter, the writer has 
had access to most of the works referred to on pages 17 and 18 of the 
Outline. He does not claim originality excei)t in the concatenation 
of the events, and in the idea that these events are parts of a great 
I>lan, each of which prepared for another until they culminated in 
the great event which forms the central thought of the present section 
of this little book. 

The discovery of America by Columbus stands out in his- 
tory as an event of supreme importance, both because of its 
value m itself, and because of its reflex action upon Europe. 
It swept away the hideous monsters and frightful apparitions 
with wliicli a superstitious imagination had i)eopled the un- 
known Atlantic, and removed at once and forever the fancied 
dangers in the way of its navigation. It destroyed the old 
patristic geography, and practicall}^ demonstrated the rotund- 
ity of the earth. It overthrew the old ideas of science, and 
gave a new meaning to the Baconian method of investigation. 
It revolutionized tlie commerce of the world, and greatly 
stimulated the intellect of Europe, already avvakening from 
the long torpor of the Dark Ages. It opened the doors of 
a New World, through wliich the oppressed and over- 
crowded population of the Old World miglit enter and make 
homes, build states, and develop a higher ideal of freedom 
than the world had before conceived. 



Preparation for the 69 

But this event did not come to pass by accident, neither 
was it the result of a single cause. It was the culmination of 
a series of events, each of which liad a tendency, more or less 
marked, to concentrate into the close of the fifteenth century 
the results of an indinct to search over unexplored seas for 
unknown lands. 

The fifteenth century was the period of transition from 
the darkness, the bondage, and the sluggishness of the Middle 
Ages, to the light, the liberty, and the activity of Modern 
Times; and tlie discovery of America by Columbus was the one 
event of all, on which this transition hinged. The series of 
events which brought a1)out this change, and which awak- 
ened, fostered, and stimulated this spirit of geographical dis- 
covery and maritime enterprise, may fitly be called the histori- 
cal conditions la the Old World pr-eparing for, and making possible 
the discovery oj the New. The principal of these were the 
Orusades, the travels of Marco Polo and others to the east- 
ward by land, the explorations of Prince Henry, of Portugal, 
to the south and west by sea, the improvement of the Mari- 
ner^s Compass, the Tnrention of Printing, the beginnings of the 
Protestant Reformation, and the Political (hndifion of Europe in 
tlie fifteen til century. 

THE CRUSADES. 

The period extending from the fifth century to the fifteentli, 
is known in liistory as the Dark Ages. It was a time of great 
mental and moral stagnation. The masses of Euro})e were in 
a condition of ignorance and superstition almost without a 
parallel since they have claimed to be at all civilized. It 
was a time when might ma^de right, and wlien the limited ex- 
perience of the individual constituted the sum of his knowl- 



70 Discovery of America. 

edge. Everythin<»; had become local ; states and individual 
minds, were confined witliin a very limited horizon. Some- 
thing was needed to energize the people and to unite them in 
one common enterprise, to awake intellectual life, and to 
engender moral enthusiasm. It came in the Crusades, a series 
of wars between the Christians of Western Europe and the 
Mohammedans of Southwestern Asia. 

The number of these wars, including the Children's Cru- 
sade, was eight or nine. 

They occurred between the years 1095 and 1291 A. D., and 
the principal seat of war was in the countries bordering the 
eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea. 

Causes. — From very early in the Christian era, pilgrimages 
to the various places associated with the life and death of the 
Savior, — especially his tomb at Jerusalem — had been regarded 
as acts of great piety, and had been sanctioned and encour- 
aged by the popes and the clergy. In the seventh century the 
Mohammedan Arabs took Jerusalem; however, they still per- 
mitted, and even encouraged, the Christian pilgrimages. But 
in 1076, the Seljuk Turks, a rude and barbarous race, recently 
converted to Mohammedanism, and almost as ignorant of 
their own faith as of Christianity, captured the Holy City, 
compelled the pilgrims to pay large sums for the privilege of 
visiting the holy places, and otherwise treated them with 
great cruelty. The reports of returning pilgrims, and espe- 
cially the preaching of Peter the Hermit, stirred all Europe 
with fiery indignation. Tlie Pope saw in this a grand oppor- 
tunity for realizing the unity of Catholic Christendom ; and 
at the Council of Clermont, in 1095, he addressed a vast 
concourse of clergy and laymen in favor of a holy war against 



Preparation for the 71 

the Turks for tlie recovery of the sacred shrines. The en- 
thusiastic cry of "God wills it, God wills it," by the multitude 
settled the question and became the war cry of the enterprise. 
Each one who enlisted wore on his shoulder the sign of the 
the cro'6-.S', made of red cloth ; hence the name crusade^ from 
the Latin word crux, meaning a cross. 

Some of the Facts. — Immediately all Western Europe was 
ablaze with enthusiasm, and in an incredibly short time 
a million men, women, and children were on the march toward 
the Holy Land. Those who first started were from the lowest 
grades of society. The prisons were opened and all classes 
of criminals were allowed their liberty and promised eternal 
salvation on the condition that tliey would join the Cru- 
saders. These formed an ignorant and undisciplined rablile : 
but later, princes, nobles, and even the kings of England, 
France, and Germany, laid aside the reins of government, 
and, clad in knightly steel, led brave and brilliant armies to 
battle with the savage Turk and the courtly Saracen. 

In 1099 Jerusalem was taken, and a Christian kingdom 
established, which, after a precarious existence of eighty- 
eight years was overthrown by the famous Saladin, and was 
never re-established. 

During the period of these wars the Crusaders fought in 
southeastern Europe, Asia Minor, Syria, Palestine, and Egypt; 
but on the fall of Acre, the Ptolemais of Scripture, in 1291, 
the Crusades came to an end. 

Effects. — 1. They tended to break up the Feudal System, 
and to disseminate popular freedom by compelling the feudal 
lords to sell their lands in order to furnish troops and su])- 
plies for the wars, and by inducing the kings to grant political 



72 Discovery of America. 

privileges to cities in return for contributions of money. In 
this way a class of persons who had been vassals before, were 
lifted into a condition of greater independence of thought 
and action. 

2. The}^ brought the Crusaders into contact with two civi- 
lizations — the Greek and the Saracenic — both of which were 
older, richer, and more advanced than their own. Thus their 
knowledge was greatly increased : progress in science, litera- 
ture, and art was promoted ; and a general stirring up of men's 
minds was produced. The old stationary state of things in 
Europe was closed by the Crusades. 

3. They brought the masses into closer communication 
with the clergy, and the amount of selfishness and corruption 
discovered in their spiritual advisors destroyed much of that 
superstitious belief in the purity and infallibility of the 
church. This broke the spiritual shackles with which Rome 
had so long held her subjects in bondage, and roused in the 
people that freedom of thought, and hardihood of opinion, 
which finally resulted in the Protestant Reformation. 

4. The}^ vastly increased geographical knowledge, and 
created a passion for travel. 

5. They encouraged maritime enterjn'ise in the foDowing 
ways : 

a. By improving the quality and increasing the number 
of ships. This resulted from the necessity of transporting 
large armies and their supplies across the Mediteri-anean Sea 
to the seat of war. 

b. By increasing the number of trained seamen, 

c. By bringing distant nations into communication with 
each other and teaching them tlie benefits of a mutual ex- 
change of products. 



Preparation for the 7H 

d. By increasing the wealth of certain cities of Italy, mak- 
ing them the commercial centres of Europe, and giving tliem 
control of the Mediterranean Sea, and the lines of traffic with 
the East. This created in the growing states of Western 
Europe, a desire for like commercial advantage ; but as the 
lines of traffic had fallen into the hands of the Italians, the 
other states must look in a different direction ; hence, there 
arose pre-eminently, a desire for a southern or a western route 
to the rich trading marts of the Indies. 

From what has been said, it may be seen that the effects of 
the Crusades not only tended to make the discovery of Amer- 
ica possible, but, with some other causes, actually led to that 
result. 

EARLY TRAVELERS. 

The Crusades created an intense desire for travel, which a 
few adventurous spirits very early gratified. We shall notice 
some of these and the relations which their travels bore to 
the discover}^ of America by Columbus. 

Among the first was one Benjamin, a Spanish -Jew, who, 
about 1160, started from Saragossa, and traveled through 
Italy and Greece to Palestine. He then turned liis steps 
toward the countries bordering on the Black and Caspian 
Seas, and thence to Chinese Barbary. He next traversed 
the countries of Farther India, embarked on the Indian Ocean, 
visited its islands, and after thirteen years came back to 
Europe with a great amount of information, which was circu- 
lated as his "Notes of Foreign liands." These were widely 
copied, (there being no printing then) and wonderfully in- 
flamed the spirit of adventure. 

But greater than the Jew was the Venitian, Marco Polo, 



74 Discovery of America. 

who set out about one liundred five years after Benjamin's 
great journey. His family were of the nobility, and engaged 
extensively in commerce. His lather and his uncle, in the 
prosecution of tlieir traffic had visited Tartary, and tlieir 
stories kindled in his mind a desire to become a traveler 
whose field should be wider than that of any of his predecessors. 
Fortunately, at the age of eighteen, circumstances favored the 
accomplishment of his purpose, and in 1265 he began his 
journey. His father and uncle had visited the court of 
Kublai Khan, and gained his confidence. The Khan sent 
them back to the western powers to negotiate treaties, one of 
the officers of his court accompanying them. With this 
embassy young Marco returned. The Khan was pleased 
with his youthful guest and enrolled him among the attendants 
of honor. He w^as soon employed in confidential missions, 
and held this relation to tlie Khan during seventeen years. 
At length he became a trader in the Indian Ocean, and for 
twenty-six years he continued his commercial pursuits in the 
chief centres of Asia. He was often })eyond the limit to 
which an}' European luid ventured. He traded with the 
merchants of the extreme east of Asia, visiting Japan, the 
existence of which was not even suspected by Europeans. 
Commerce had never before had such an explorer. He 
returned to Italy tlie wonder of mankind. The people stood 
amazed at his descriptions of vast regions of opulence, fertility, 
power, and glory, — regions the names of which were like 
those of romance. 

Polo wrote a minute description of his journey, which pro- 
duced a startling effect upon the mind of Europe, inflaming 
it with an unwonted interest in the golden regions of Asia. 



Preparation for the 75 

Everywhere an Asiatic turn was given to trade. Asia was 
the subject of thought, of conversation, of dreams, of trade, 
and of speculation. "His work was of inestimable value as a 
stimulant and guide to geographical research ; it encouraged 
the Portuguese to find the wa\^ to Hindoostan round the 
Cape of Good Hojjc ; and it roused the passion for discovery 
in the breast of Columbus, thus leading to the two greatest of 
modern geographical discoveries." 

This l)Ook of Polo's furnished the data from which the 
German geographers constructed improved maps and globes; 
but unfortunately, (or fortunately) Polo had made no astro- 
nomical observations, nor had he even recorded the length of 
the day at any place ; hence the geographers, who liad no 
certain data for estimating the extent of the countries which 
he had traversed, propagated errors which led to results that 
were destined to influence the history of mankind. They incor- 
porated on their maps and globes, their own rough estimates 
of Marco Polo's day's journeys, making the distance traveled 
nmch greater than it really was. They thus represented the 
continent of Asia as extending across the Pacific Ocean, and 
having its eastern shores somewhere in the region of the 
West Indies. These erroneous calculations led Columbus to 
the false assumption that by sailing west a comparatively 
short distance he would come to the wealthy trading marts of 
China. As a result of this conviction he entered upon that 
memorable expedition which terminated in the discovery of 
the continent of America. 

The next traveler of importance, was Sir John Mandeiille, 
who left England in 1322. Passing through France, he pro- 
ceeded to Palestine where he joined the army of the Turks. 



76 Discovery of America. 

He afterward served under the Sultan in Egypt, and in south- 
ern China under the Khan of Cathay. He resided tliree 
years at the great city of Pekin, and then, after traveling over 
a large part of Asia, he returned to England, having been 
absent more than thirty years. He wrote a book of his trav- 
els, which was copied in several languages. This book gave a 
more detailed description of those countries than any previ- 
ous work had given. It thus served to extend the knowledge of 
the people who could afford to possess it, and to keep up the 
interest in travels and traffic in the East. 

But these travelers wjiom we have named went by land ; 
they could only report of those countries that are linked 
togetlier, forming the Eastern Continent. The}^ could tell 
nothing of America, and but little of Africa. To gain a 
knowledge of these countries required greater advancement 
in maritime enterprise. For this advancement, mucli of the 
honor is due to Prince Henry of Portugal. 

PRINCE HENRY THE NAVIGATOR. 

"The mystery wliich for ages liad hung over the Atlantic, 
and had hidden from the knowledge men, one-half of the 
surface of the globe, had reserved a field of noble enterprise 
for Prince Henry of Portugal. Until his time the pathways 
of mankind had been the mountain, the river, and tlie plain, 
the strait, the lake, and the inland sea ; but it was lie who 
first conceived the plan of opening a road through the unex- 
plored ocean, a road re})lete witli danger but abundant in 
promise." 

This remarkable man was the son of King John I. of Por- 
tugal, and Queen Philippa, daughter of John of Gaunt, Duke 
of Lancaster. He was born in Oporto in 1394. He has been 



Phepakation for the 77 

styled ''Tlio Niivigator ;" also "The Fatlier of Modern Geo- 
graphical Discoveries," and he well deserves these honorable 
titles. At a very early age he distinguished himself in the 
wars against the Moors; and in the i)rosecutio):i of these wars 
he went into Northern Africa, where he learned many new 
and strange things about that country and its people. Thus 
originated tlie great ambition of liis life, to find a sea-path to 
the Indies by circunniavigating Africa. This ])ath till then 
was knowii only through faint echoes of almost forgotten 
tnidition. 

To be duly appreciated tliis thought must f)e viewed in 
relation to the time in which it was conceived. The fifteenth 
century has been rightly named the "last of the Dark Ages," 
but the light which displaced its obscurity liad not yet begun 
to dawn when Prince Henry, with prophetic instinct, traced 
in his imagination a pathway to India by an anticipated Cape 
of Good Hope. No ])rinting-press as yet gave forth to the 
world the. accumulated wisdom and exj)erience of the past. 
Tlie compjiss, though known and in use, had not yet embold- 
ened men to leave the shore and put out with confidence into 
the open sea : no sea-cliart existed to guide the mariner along 
the perilous African coasts: no liu-ht-liouse reared its st;itely 
head and spread the light of its friendly eye to warn or wel- 
come him on his dreary track. Tiie scientific and practical 
appliances wliich were to render })ossible tlie discovery of 
half a world, had yet to be developed. But, with these 
objects in view, Henry took U]:> his residence at Sagres, near 
Cape St. Vincent, the extr<nne southwestern point of Portu- 
gal. It was an iniios}»itable ])lac(\ Anotlierspot so cold, so 
barren, so dreary, it would l)e difficult to find in sunnv 



78 Discovery of America. 

Portugal. But it suited his purposes ; it furnished good 
harborage, and three-quarters of the horizon were occu- 
pied by the mighty and mysterious Avaters of the as yet 
unmeasured Atlantic. Here he devoted a number of years 
to the incessant study of mathematics, astronomy, cosmog- 
raphy, cartography, and navigation. He drew around him 
the chief men of science ; and that their learning might be 
made practically useful, he established an observatory and a 
school of navigation, in which the known facts of geography 
were reduced from their former crude shape into an intelligi- 
ble system. With princely liberality of reward he invited the 
cooperation of the boldest and most skillful navigators of 
every country. He built arsenals and dock-yards ; improved 
the skill and stinudated the industry of his shipwrights; the 
mariner's compass was brought into use as it had never been 
before ; and his pupils and seamen were taught how to de- 
termine latitude and longitude by means of astronomical 
observations. ^luch improvement was likewise made in the 
construction of maps and charts ; for the beginning of which 
work he diligently collected the information supplied by 
ancient geographers, and new material was constantl}^ accru- 
ing from reports brought back by tlie numerous expeditions 
fitted out to explore the African coast and to collect authentic 
information concerning it. 

Henr}^ had learned from the Moors concerning the rich gold 
ooast of Guinea, and he determined to reach it by water. His 
first expedition was sent out about the j^ear 1415. This is re- 
markable as being the fir d expedition for discovery sent out by any 
nation in modern times, and it is no less remarkable that it was 
planned and executed by a youth who had scarcely reached 
the age of manhood. 



Preparation for thk 79 

Cape Nun, (or Nou, meaning not) lies between Portugal 
and the Guinea Coast. Previous to Henry's time this cape 
had been regarded as the farthest point of the earth. Beyond 
it, superstition had pictured a realm of spectres, and the 
boldest mariners could not be induced to attempt its passage. 
The Portuguese had a proverb running thus: "Whoever passes 
Cape Non will return or iiof.^^ This cape, however, was 
doubled, and at a distance of sixty leagues beyond, the more 
stormy and dangerous cape, Bojador, was reached. For 
twenty years attempt after attempt was made to pass it, but 
in vain. About the year 1420, two of Henry's boldest sea- 
men, Zarco and Vaz, in making this attempt were SAvept by 
the fury of the gales out to the open sea. Here, as the storm 
continued, tliey lost their l)ea rings and surrendered tli em- 
selves to despair; but foi'tunately they were driven into the 
haven of a distant island, which, in gratitude they named, 
Porto Santo, i. e.. Holy Haven. This voyage marks in navi- 
gation, the jilfandonment of the old method of coasting, and 
the commencement of a new style of sea-faring, that of stretch- 
ing boldly out into the ocean. These men were compelled in 
returning home, to trust the conj}»ass, and finding it trust- 
worthy, they were now ready to ])nss any of the stormy caj^es 
Ijy standing far out from the shore. In 1434 — 1486, Cape 
Bojador was doubled by Gil Eannes. Seamen were now 
l)ecoming educated to a bolder navigation, and voyage suc- 
ceeded voyage in ra[)id succession, each crew returning with 
abundant evidence of the ])ossil)ility of navigating waters 
which had hitherto l)een considered impracticable. 

The island n^ached by Zarco nnd Vaz was one of the Madeiras. 
Three hundred miles irom tiie coast, the Cape Verde Islands 



80 Blscoveky of America. 

were found, and nine hundred miles from any continent a 
single vessel reached the Azores. The darkness of supersti- 
tion was giving way l^efore tlie light of Prhice Henry's opera- 
tions. Intense excitement prevailed. Thinking men every- 
where were amazed at the revelations so rapidly made. From 
all quarters sailors came to find employment, and students 
to obtain instruction, under the wonderful Prince. For a 
time Henry bore all tlie expense of these voyages himself, 
but when discoveries became popular, and the merchants 
found that there was profit in the expeditions, self-supporting 
societies were formed under Henry's patronage and guidance. 
The government, too, furnished aid, and what began in the 
faith and enthusiasm of a single individual, became the pas- 
sion of a whole nation. 

In 1460, in the midst of his successes, Prince Henry died : 
but his mantle fell upon liis brother, King .John II. of Portu- 
gal, who was in every way w^orthy to become his successor. 
In 1471 the Portuguese had crossed the equator, finding the 
coast of Africa, which superstition had pictured under a belt 
of fire, not only habitable, but very fertile, and alread}^ ])opu- 
lous. Finally one of John's expeditions reached the Cape of 
Good Hope, and the route to India by the south and east 
was opened to the world. 

There is little doubt that Columbus had been fired by the 
travels of Benjamin, Marco Polo, and Sir J ohn Mandeville ; 
the news of the Portuguese successes added fuel to the flame; 
and in 1470 he- came to Lisbon in search of employment and 
geographical knowledge, as many others had already done. 
Here he married the daughter of one who had beeil a great 
sea captain under Prince Henry. With his wife, Columbus 



Preparation for the 81 

obtained possession of many valuable maps, charts, and 
instruments of navigation. He was ap})ointed governor of 
the Madeira Islands, which had been colonized soon after 
their discovery. It was while living here that he matured 
his theory of the form of the earth, and of a western route to 
India ; and it was here that his theory was greatly strength- 
ened by learning that there had been found on the western 
coast of the Azores and Cape Verde Islands, pieces of strangely 
carved wood, trees, seeds, and the bodies of two men whose 
color and features were different from any familiar to Euro- 
peans at that time. He could no longer forbear to test his 
theory ; he therefore returned to Europe for aid. His diffi- 
culties in obtaining it need no repetition here. 

While the operations of Henry and John were not directed 
toward America, it is easy to see that they were steps in the 
preparation for its discovery. "If from the pinnacle of our 
present knowledge, we mark on the world of waters those 
bright tracks which, during tlie last four centuries and a half, 
have led to the discovery of mighty continents, we shall find 
them all lead us back to that same inhospitable point of Sagres, 
and to the motive which gave to it a royal inhabitant." A 
long lifetime after Henry's plan was first laid, Columbus suc- 
ceeded in accomplishing that stupendous achievement which 
formed the connecting link between the Old World and the 
New ; and while to Colum})US belongs the highest honor of 
this great benefaction to the world, it should never be for- 
gotten that the explorations of Prince Henry of Portugal, . 
were in reality the anvil upon which that link was forged. 

Of Henry's work, Irving beautifully says, ' It was effected, 
not by arms, but by arts ; not by the stratagems of a cabinet, 



82 Preparation for the 

but by the wisdom of a college. It was the great achievement 
of a prince who has been well described as being full of 
thoughts of lofty enterprise, and acts of generous spirit,^one 
who bore for his device the magnanimous motto, 'The talent 
to do good ;' — tlie only talent (desire) worthy the ambition 
of princes." 

THE mariner's compass. 

The world is prol>ably indebted to the Chinese for a knowl- 
edge of the directive power of the magnet, and to the Arabs 
for its introduction into Europe. The magnet is said to 
have derived its name from magnesia, the country in Asia 
Minor, w^here the lodestone was first found. The Chinese 
annals assign the invention of the compass to the year 26o4 
B. C, when they say the emperor Houangti constructed an 
instrument for indicating the south. At first it seems to have 
been used exclusively for guidance in traveling by land. 
Humboldt says that one of the Chinese en.perors in the 
eleventh century B. C, presented to the ambassadors at his 
court from Tunkin and Cochin China, "magnetic cars," that 
they might not miss their way on their return home. The 
earliest mention that we have of their using it by sea, is about 
the year 300 A. D. 

The directive power of the magnet seems to hjive been 
unknown in Elurope until late in the twelfth century A. I) 
Tlie first mention of it in any European writing is in a treat- 
ise h} Alexander Neckam in 1180. It was mentioned also 
in a satirical poem leveled at the Pope in 1190 l)y the Frencli 
poet Guyot de Provins. We quote it IVom Goodrich's "History 
of the Sea." 



Discovery of America. 83 

'•As for our Father the Pope, 

I would he wore like the star 

Which moves not. Ver}' well see it 

The sailors who are on the watch. 

By thi« star they go and come, 

And hold their course and their way. 

They call it the Polar Star. 

It is fixed, very unchangeable : 

All the others move, 

And alter their places and turn, 

But this star moves not. 

They make a contrivance whicth cannot lie, 

By the virtue of the magnet. 

An ugly and brownish stone, 

To which iron spontaneously joins itself 

They have ; and they observe the right point, 

x\fter they have caused a needle to touch it, 

And placed it in a rush : (straw) 

They put it in the water without anything more, 

And the rush keeps it on tlie surface ; 

Then it turns its point direct 

Towards the star with such certainty, 

That no man will ever have any doubt of it ; 

Nor will it ever for anything go false. 

When the sea is dark and hazy, 

That they can neither see star nor moon. 

Then they place a light ])y the needle, 

And so they have no fear of going wrong : 

Towards the star goes the point, 

W^hereby the mariners have the skill 

To keep the right way. 

It is an art which cannot fail." 

Hut the most interesting reference to the magnet in this 
connection, before the needle was set on a pivot in a box, is 
by Brunetto Latini, the teacher of Dante, who visited the 
philosoplier Roger Bacon at Oxford, England, in 1258. We 
quote from Major's "Prince Henry the Navigator:" 

•'The Parliament being sunmioned to assemble at Oxford. \ 



84 Preparation for the 

did not fail to see Friar Bacon as soon as I arrived, and 
(among other things) he showed me a black ugly stone, called 
a magnet, which has the surprising property of drawing iron 
to it ; and upon which if a needle be rubbed, and afterward 
fastened to a straw, so that it shall swim upon water, the 
needle will instantly turn toward the Pole-star : therefore, be 
the night ever so dark, so that neither moon nor star be visi- 
ble, yet shall the mariner be able, by the help of this needle, 
to steer his vessel aright. Tliis discovery, whicn appears use- 
ful in so great a degree to all wlio travel by sea, must remain 
concealed until other times ; because no master-mariner dares 
to use it lest he should fall Under a supposition of his being 
a magician ; nor would even the sailors venture themselves 
out to sea under his command, if he took with him an instru- 
ment which carries so great an appearance of being constructed 
under the influence of some infernal spirit. A time may 
come when these prejudices, which are of such great hin- 
drance to researches into the secrets of natare, will probably be 
no more ; and it will be then that mankind shall reap the 
benefit of the labors of such learned men as Friar Bacon, and 
do justice to that industry and Intelligence for which he and 
they now meet with no otlier return than obloquy and 
reproach." 

It is difficult, from the conflicting and fragmentary accounts, 
to determine just when the magnet ceased to be an article of 
curiosity, as it was in Bacon's time, and became one of prac- 
tical and reliable use. Most writers assume ttiat the change 
occurred when the needle was poised on a pivot and enclosed 
in a box. But when this was, and by whom it was done, is a 
matter of doul:)t. It is supposed, however, that this was done 



Discovery'of America. 85 

by Flavio Gioja, (pron. Jo-}^^) about the beginning of the 
fourteenth century. Whether tliis is true or not, it is certain 
that Prince Henry urged his men to use it and to trust it, 
and it was known and used effectively in the voyages made 
under his direction. The poising of the needle on a pivot, 
was the beginning of a new era in navigation. Previously the 
mariner was careful to keep witliin sight of the shores and 
head-lands along wliich he coasted, thus often making his 
voyage long, tedious, and dangerous ; but after some experi- 
ence in testing the certainty of the directive power of the 
compass, he felt that he had a safe guide to his movements, 
and with this assurance he bade adieu to the stars, promon- 
tories, and coasts which formerly had been his close compan- 
ions, and pushed boldly out into the open sea. Without the 
compass it is not at all probable that even the daring mind of 
Columbus would have ventured to brave the dangers of the 
dark, stormy, and mysterious Atlantic. 

THE ART OF PRINTING. 

The honor of bringing this art to that degree of perfection 
which made it of such wonderful benefit to mankind, is 
claimed by both the Dutch and the Germans. By the former, 
it is claimed for Lawrence Coster (or Koster) between the 
years 1420 and 1426 ; by the latter, for John Gutenberg, be- 
tween 1440 and 1450. The names of John Faust (or Fust) 
and Peter SclKjefier also appear in the history of printing, with 
some claims to honor ; but they were capitalists furnishing 
means, and not the thinkers who perfected the work. 

Gutenberg's claims are best established, and to him, most 
writers on the subject assign the invention. His invention 
was not that of printing with movable types, for that had 



86 ^Preparation for thk 

long been known in Europe. It was known and practiced 
by the Chinese probably five-hundred years before Guten- 
berg's time. His work was the invention of the type mold, 
by which metallic types could be rapidly and accurately pro- 
duced. So complete was this invention when it left his hand, 
that it is the only method of type making now in use, not hav- 
ing been materiall}^ improved from that day to this. Previous 
to Gutenberg's discovery, every letter was engraved by hand 
on the types, and consequently ])ook-making on an extensive 
scale by the use of such types was practically impossible. 
Like many other benefactors who preceded and followed him, 
Gutenberg was thought crazy and visionary by liis contem- 
poraries ; but like Galileo, Coluiiibus, Stephenson, and Good- 
year, he felt that there was laid upon him the accomplishment 
of a work which was to prove a benefaction to the world. 
This feeling, and a sublime faith in his ability to perform it, 
sustained him under discouragements which would have 
crushed a mind uninspired by such ideas as inspired him. 
This invention was exceedingly opportune. It was made at 
a time when men's minds were awakening from the lethargic 
sleep of the Dark Ages : wlien there was an intense desire to 
know more of the world ; when a few truly scientific men 
were investigating the lawt? and forces of nature in a s^^ste- 
matic way ; and when men were beginning to think for them- 
selves in religion as well as in science. Printing was needed to 
preserve and disseminate the results of tliese investigations. 
If Gutenberg h^id preceded the American discoveries of the 
Norsemen, and printing had been in as general use then as it 
was in 1492, the world would not liave needed the services 
of a C'Olumbus. By means of the ])ress (-olumbus was enabled 



Discovery of America. 87 

to accumulate sufficient material from the travels of Polo 
and others, from the i>ublislied works of the German geogra- 
phers, and from the reports of the Portuguese discoveries, to 
construct his theory of the form and size of the earth, and of 
a western route to India. Printing is the "art preservative of 
all arts." By it each generation is emiclied by the accumu- 
lated wisdom of all the past. 

"Mightiest of all the mighty meHiis, 
On which the arm oi jyrogress leans, 
Man's noblest mission to advance, 
His woes assuage, his weal enliance, 
His rights enforce, his wrongs redress, 
Mightiest of the tnighty is the- Press.'' ^ 

THE PROTESTANT REFORMATION. 

The Reformation wns that great s{)iritual and ecclesiastical 
reform whicli took place in Europe during the fourteenth, 
fifteenth, and sixteenth centuries, and which divided the 
Roman Catholic Church into two great opposing parties, 
rtnally resulting in the establishment of the various ecclesi- 
astical denominations of Protestant Cliristendom. Before 
1492 the main principles upon which this reform proceeded 
had been preached among tlie Waldenses in Southern France, 
by Wicklitfe in England, by Huss in Bohemia, and l\v Savon- 
arola in Italy. Although tlie sc]);iration in the church did 
not take place until early in the sixteenth centurj', the way 
had been prepared by these great preachers and others more 
luimble, so that when Luther took up the work he needed 
only to gather together into a form the elements that had 
been made ready for him. 

( !(lU.sey.. 

1. 77ir; Crumdes. They brought tiie common people and 
the clergy into closer relations, and the people saw, to some 



88 Preparation for the 

extent at least, the degraded state of affairs in the church, and 
the cloud of mystery which had so lono^ hung over the chair of 
St. Peter, filling the nations with awe, was partially dispelled. 

2. Invention of Printing. This brought about a general 
diffusion of knowledge by reducing the cost of books, thus 
enabling the poorer classes to profit by the translations of the 
Bible, and by tlie thoughts of the leading men of the day. 

3. Establishment of Universities. The organization of uni- 
versities in various parts of Europe, threw many great schol- 
ars into the midst of the people. In 1453 Constantinople fell 
into the hands of the Turks, when large numbers of learned 
Greeks found their way as teachers into these schools, and 
gave a wonderful impulse to freedom of thought. 

4. Irnmoralitij of the Clergy. The clergy as a class, had lost 
all ecclesiastical discipline, and all sorts of crimes were com- 
mon among them. They became luxurious and ambitious ; 
and, as the revenue of each was too little for his avarice, it 
became the lashion to seize that of others, — to pillage, assault, 
and oppress inferiors. 

5. Illegal Election of Pope Urban VI. This election, which 
occurred toward the close of the fourteenth century, causcl 
tlie dissatisfied cardinals to elect Robert, cardinal of Geneva, 
under the title of Pope Clement VII. Europe was about equal- 
ly divided in support of the two claimants. From this period 
the })0wer of the Pope declined. For forty ye.irs after this 
tluTe were constantly two, and sometimes tliree popes, each 
claiming to be the head of the church, and each denying the 
infallibility of the others. Councils were assembled which en- 
deavored to settle the disputes and to determine the true pope. 
These councils claimed jurisdiction above the popes. 



DrscovKRY OK America, 



89 



6. The sale of Indulgences. Tlie immediate cause of tlie 
reformation was the sale of indulgences. The system of in- 
dulgences as first practiced, consisted in the imposing by the 
church of certain g(,od works its a {)a.rtial substitute for cer- 
tain offenses. The payment of sums of money was gradually 
substituted for the performance of the good works. This 
money was at first regarded as alms, of whicli the cluirch was 
to be tiie dispensf^r ; tinally, it was received for the purpose of 
irratifying the extravagance and avarice of tlie popes. Plenary 
indulgences were not granted until the time of the Crusades. 
When the popes had estaV)lish(id tlie practice of selling these 
indulgences, it became the means of taxing all ('hristendom. 
The agents who sold them used every means to insure success 
in their sale. Tetzel, one of these agents, bojusted of saving 
more souls from hell than St. Peter had converted. 

m'ecis. 

1. Intellectuol The Reformation was iiivorahle to the de- 
veloi)ment of intellect. The Roman Catliolic Church substi- 
tuted tlie decrees of the popes and councils for the judg- 
ment of the individual. The Reformation proceeded upon 
the princi])le of free inquiry in matters of religion, which 
would naturally lead to free inquiry in matters of science as 
well. This freedom of thouglit began early to make breaches 
in the wall by which the church had sought to circumscribe 
tlie investigations of science. It over-turned the old Ptolema- 
ic theory of geography, and established the more rational one, 
accepted, and afterward proved by Columbus. 

2. Change within the Church. This outside pressure caused 
a reform within the church itself. It became purer in its 
practices, and changed materially, its uttitude toward science, 



90 P'liKi'AiwVTION FOR THK 

especially those branches of it whicli had to do with geogra- 
phy and navigation. 

3. It augmented the power of Kings. Before the Reforma- 
tion began, kings and other rulers were held subject to the 
papal authority. Now, they were, in a measure, their own 
masters. This gave them freedom to engage in maritime and 
other enterprises without consulting the wishes of the papacy. 
Not only this, the breaking up of the excessive sale of indul- 
gences, left more money to be applied to these enterprises. 

POLITICAL CONDITION OF EUROPE IN THE FIFTEENTH 
CENTURY. 

From the breaking up of the Roman Empire in the fifth 
century, to the time of the Crusades in the tw^elfth and thir- 
teenth centuries, the political condition of Europe was cha- 
otic. The feudal system was at its height, and a great number 
of petty kings and nobles ruled the masses and quarreled 
with one another. During this time there existed, of course, 
little idea of nationality ; but through the influence, chiefly, 
of the Crusades, the feudal system w^as broken up ; the strong- 
er kings overcame the weaker ; power and territory were con- 
solidated ; and by the middle of the fifteenth century the 
modern states of Europe were pretty well established. The 
leading of these were Italy, Spain, France, Portugal, and 
England. 

It will be remembered that the Crusades gave to certain 
Italian cities great commercial prominence. Italy, therefore, 
of all these ambitious young nations, held the first place in 
wealth and power. Her cities were rich, her navigators skill- 
ful, her navies powerful, and the entire trade of Western 
Europe with the East was in her hands. The other nations, 



DiHCOVKRY OF AMERICA, 91 

finding themselves commercially tributary to her, and seeing 
that her commerce was tlie key to her prosperity and power, 
became jealous of her, and began to devise ways and means 
to out-rival her; and as she firmly lield the old caravan 
routes to the Indies, the only way in whicii they could hope 
to succeed was by finding a new road by water. 

Soon after the conquest of Constantinople by the ^ Turks in 
1453, these same Turks took possession of the over-land 
routes to India, and as a result, tlie Italian trade with the 
East was almost entirely destroyed. Now, Europe must 
forego the luxuries of the East, or find a new way to get 
them. It was readily seen that the nation that should first 
secure the new route would hold the same relation to the 
others that Italy liad previously held, and the struggle began 
in earnest. 

Up to this time the western nations had accomplished little 
for want of skillful navigators, but the destruction of Italian 
commerce had thrown out of employment such men as 
Columbus, Verrazzani, and the Cabots, who were soon found 
sailing under the patronage respectively, of Spain, France, and 
England ; and for wliom, while seeking a western passage 
to the rich trading marts of India, they founded claims to 
territory in America. 

Thus the political condition of Europe in the fifteenth cen- 
tury brought about a struggle for increased political power 
through commercial supremacy, which promoted maritime 
enterprise, and led immediately to the discovery of the New 
World. 



92 CONGLUSIOK. 

This chain of events preparing for the discovery of Amer- 
ica, is an illustration of the great truth that all history is but 
the development of a plan. Each event accomplished is a 
step in its realization. Man goes forward in the execution of 
a design which he has not himself conceived, and which, it 
may be, he does not understand. It is not until it manifests 
itself in outward realities, and he has reached tlie elevated 
vantage ground of some series of great achievements, that he 
is able to recognize and comprehend it. Until the modern 
era there was no just recognition of the continuity of human 
events, no true appreciation of the movement of history, nor 
any well defined confidence in the future. The wonderful 
developments in science, art, and literature, and the imposing 
procession of events in the unfoldings of human history in all 
its phases, are but the harmonious expression of a great 
organic thought. It is by man himself, by the development 
of his intellectual powers, his sensibility, and his will; in 
short, by coming into the conscious possession of his inherit- 
ance, — true rational freedom, that the great scheme of the 
world is accomplished. A comprehension of this fact reveals 
to man the dignity of his position in the economy of history. 
He to whom this tiiought commends itself, will be reconciled 
to the past through the lessons it tejiches him, he will be con- 
tent to do in the present the duties which it brings to him, 
and he will have an abiding faith, and a cheerful confidence 
in the developments of the future. 




